tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21689081822813236112018-03-05T07:58:00.152-08:00Christ United Methodist ChurchChrist United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-684905025418161362012-08-13T13:58:00.002-07:002012-08-13T13:58:15.699-07:00update on Sunday school for August<div>Update on Sunday school for this Sunday as well as the whole month of August.</div><div> </div><div>I am trying to mix things up this season with different ideas and activities that will charge our kids with creativity as well as their spirituality. I am hoping these ideas will springboard new questions, thoughts and discussion amoung our kiddos. and we can also share with the adults in our congregation.</div><div> </div><div>Here is my write-up for August as well as my thoughts.</div><div> </div><div>August is month of no official holidays, but plenty of fun and opportunities to learn! The Christian faith celebrates The Transfigurataion of Christ in August, which is when Jesus met with Elijah and Moses on the mountain top. He had taken John, James, Peter and their eyes were popping out. Peter wanted to say there forever. The activites that I will outline will help helps understand that just like Peter, we need to remain in this world and sometimes do things that arent' fun. Our transfiguration is a promise from that day that we can enjoy while we wait!</div><div> </div><div>The closing of the Olympic games is August 12th It's time for rewards after years of hard work. Those rewards are a lot like what we look forward to in heaven, so we're offering activities that show these likenesses.</div><div> </div><div>Martin Luther King gave his famed "I have a dream" speech on August 28th of 1963. I will be providing activities to help celebrate what some consider a speech inspired by the Holy Spirit. This should help out kids understand that God made us all equal, but he also made us very diverse. As Christians, we should celebrate unity with diversity.</div><div> </div><div>Finally, for the past few years, August has been named Water Quality Month. I will be providing ideas on how to raise money for countries where the drinking water is so foul that kids show symptoms of illness just moments after drinking what they need to survive. Fresh water is desperately needed, and I am providing ideas so that our kids can help other kids obtain the most basic essentials.</div><div> </div><div>I will also be sharing some stories written by or about children, so they can focus on critical world situations that kids can put in their language.</div><div> </div><div>This Sunday's lesson is "The Transfiguration of Christ".</div><div> </div><div>Idea: In this World you will have Tribulation</div><div> </div><div>Many wonderful messages can be garnished by the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. We don't know what was discussed in this meeting with Moses and Elijah. But we know that it gave three weary, confused and anxious disciples a little peak at heaven's eternal beauty and awesome power. It was the first plave in a long journey where they felt utterly at peace.</div><div> </div><div>It was so wonderul to be in the midst of it that Peter suggested they stay there forever, building temples for Moses and Elijah. However, the meeting wasn't meant to be eternal; it was only meant to be respite = and a promise for the future.</div><div> </div><div>Peter was probably very disappointed to hear that he had to go back down to the dusty grimy villages where they had been laughed at, stared at, argued with, and condescended to.</div><div> </div><div>Theme; What's Good Enough for Peter is Good Enough for You!</div><div> </div><div>Our activities, in honor of Apostle Peter in the toddler steps of his Christian walk: God promises us a beautiful transfiguration in heaven when we believe in Jesus. In the meantime, the message for us is the same as it was for Peter. We need to be here in the world and continue in faith while performing mundane, or stressful or not-much-fun tasks that occur every day, believing God is with us and will someday fulfill his promises. Kids generally do not like chores or homework or other responsibilities. They like to be free to play. Responsibility is their grimy village. Play is their heaven on earth. This week, the kids will play ganes where the hardest worker is "transfigured". We will play transfiguration tag and create a transfiguration cloud. We will also talk about caterpillars and butterflies and how it is transfigured.</div><div> </div><div>The scripture covering the Transfiguration, which I will be reading to the kid is Mark 9:2-10.</div><div> </div><div>I have also broken the the lesson such as Object Lesson: A Light Doesn't Change Strengths, Transfiguration game: Follow the sound of my voice, The song that they will learn for the first time is Play, Work and Purpose to the tune of Old Macdonald, and if we have time Transfiguration Craft, Magic Glasses. I really like this, as we a picture is drawn and with their "magic" glasses, the figure of Jesus will he invisable, but when the glasses are off, he will be visable.</div><div> </div><div>Each of these will have conclusions. </div><div> </div><div>To give you an idea: the conclustion behind the magic glasses is:</div><div> </div><div>The Transfiguration gave the disciples a chance to see the true glory of God. There were seeing things differently than they ever saw things before. Just like them, we have to go on in a world where it's hard to see that Jesus is near us. We need to remember....the problem is only in our earthly eyes! He is very much with us, even if we have trouble seeing him down here on earth. He is with us every day, forgiving us, renewing us, and transfiguring us, by faith. (Matthew 17: 1-9)</div><div> </div><div>Thanks.</div><div> </div><div>Lisa</div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-57596206979783793282012-07-16T12:29:00.004-07:002012-07-16T12:29:43.340-07:00Updated on Sunday school for July 22, 2012<div>Since Friday, July 20th is Moon Day, I thought we could incorporate it, and make it part of our Sunday school lesson for something fun, different and exciting for the kids. I would will have a simple experiment, arts and craft project as well as a scientific video about the moon. The experiment would demonstrate the most famous things the astronauts did without for a week - gravity! Gravity keeps our feet on the ground. It's <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">alot</span> like our faith; which keeps us from rocketing off into the darkness of strange teachings <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">fron</span> other faiths.</div><div> </div><div>When we think about our spiritual lives, we can keep ourselves spiritually grounded by keeping Jesus in our thoughts ad prayers as we move through a day. Jesus will be our spiritual gravity--keeping ourselves grounded in our faith.</div><div> </div><div>We celebrate Moon day because man landing on the moon was a great achievement. That day, man went off to somewhere so far away that it was impossible to see them or be near them. It's a little like death in that we can't see our deceased relatives. However, the men who went to the moon came back, very much alive. The moon walk should remind us that those who are absent in body are present in Christ. They will show up again someday too...to welcome us into the galaxy of heaven.</div><div> </div><div>Isaiah 40:26 says, "Lift your eyes and look into the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.' If God can create the heaven's..if God can keep men safe as they explore the moon..surely we can trust him to keep us safe <span class="J-JK9eJ-PJVNOc">whe</span> we call on him! Let's remember to look at our friends and family this week and remember how smart, strong and beautiful God is.</div><div> </div><div>I will also have a laser show to show the kids as they enter the classroom and explain what the topic is above. Then we will have a simple experiment and finally, I will show perhaps a National Geographic show on the moon, followed by a snack. I have had several requests for my chocolate chip muffins this week.</div><div> </div><div>Let us remember that the moon is far, but we can go further! When we die, we can go all the way to heaven, which will make the dark trip to the moon fade in comparison to the glory of the light of God!</div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-75207834798683265392012-07-03T10:19:00.000-07:002012-07-03T10:19:10.491-07:00Update on Sunday school for July 8, 2012Update on Sunday school for July 8, 2012<br /><br /><div><strong>Self-Control</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>The setting for the first chapter of the Book of Daniel is the capture of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian army has at this point swept accross the land, taking with them the best and brighest of the empire and relocating them to Babylon. The story of Daniel tells about one young man who was among those taken. Daniel and several of his friends were also selected to be trained to be in service to the Babylonian king. This was a great honor and required great mental and physical stamina.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Eating rich foods and wines from the king's table was one of the privileges of being selected to participate in this program. Since this was enjoyabe it must have been tempting for the young men to give in to this custom. However, being devoutly Jewish meant that Daniel and his friends were governed by certain dietary laws (much too complicated to go into here). The king's food obviously did not fall within these guidelines. Surely, it took large amounts of self-control for Daniel and his friends to pass up the rich royal diet adn to eat only those foods that they could be assured were properl prepared. These foods consisted moslly of vegetables and water.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>The steward wo was in charge of the wellbeing of these young men was concerned that he would be blamed for any ill health they might suffer. Even the king was angry that the men would turn down the food served at his own table. However, Daniel managed to convince both that they should be allowed to put this to a test. How surprised both the king and the steward were when Daniel and his friends ended up healthier and stronger than those who ate the richer foods. The king came to admire Daniel and his friends for their self-control and wise judgement.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Given an opportunity, what child would choose broccoli over a bag of potato chip or a helping of mashed potatoes over a double-chocolate fudge sundae? Learning to make wise choices is one the skills of growing up. Learning to choose what is right is an issue of self-control; choosing what is best over choosing what one would rather have. Young children do not have many autonomous choices allowed them. But they need to practice whenever possible so that when the time comes to make larger, more life-affecting choices, they are equipped to evaluate and choose wisely.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>So, in Sunday's lesson and story, Daniel finds himself, along with many others, taken from his homeland and forced to live in another culture, one that doesn't worship the one true God. Selected to be a part of the king's own staff, Daniel had to choose to remain faithful to his dietary laws when confronted with the excesses of the palace. how diffiult this mush have been!! And yet, with great self-control Daniel stood his ground and proved himself to be the better man for it. Children are not born with self-control. They have to learn it, oftentimes by the mistakes they make. Lack of self-control often shows up as greed, something that, as Christians, we work against. God wants us to share and think of others.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Our games and activities will include Vegetable soup, scattered categories, temptations, resit and Batik, one of our friendly puppets will make an apperance and discuss what was learned today and finally the story will be good choice. When we have our snack, if we have time, I will ready Charolette's Web which is out making good and bad choices.</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Bible Verse</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Let us choose what is right</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Job 34:4</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Bible Story</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Daniel 1:1-20</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-59345162896790779012012-06-04T15:38:00.002-07:002012-06-04T15:38:36.695-07:00Update on Sunday school for June 10, 2012Faithfulness<br /><br />The Southern Kingdom of Judah was ruled by the house of David until Juhah fell to the Babylonians sometime around 587 B.C.&nbsp; Josiah, who reigned from 640 B.C. to 609 B.C., became king when he was eight years old.&nbsp;&nbsp; Some time in his twenties, Josiah began to make his own decisions.&nbsp; Josiah looked around and saw that the worship practices of Assyria had, over time, influenced the worship practices of his people.&nbsp; These worship practices did not reflect what God intended worship to be.&nbsp; Many laws and rituals were ignored and eventually forgotten.<br /><br />Now, Josiah, unlike most of Judah's kings, were faithful to God&nbsp; Josiah ordered thadt the Temple of Jerusalem be repaired.&nbsp; During the restoration of the Temple, some form of the Book of Deuteronomy was discovered (probably chapters 12-26 of our present book of Deuteronomy).&nbsp; Deuteronomy was the Book of Jewish Law.&nbsp; Huldah the prophetess verified the authenticity of the scrolls and Josiah called the people together to hear the words of the Law and for them to renew their covenant with God.&nbsp; The discovery of this Book of Law helped Josiah to reform the practices of the Hebrew people.&nbsp; Josiah established the Temple in Jerusalem as the central place of worship and reinstated the celebration of Passover.<br /><br />Faithfulness of God set Judiah apart from the other kings of Judah and even from his own people.&nbsp; Josiah attempted to bring his people back to faithfulness to the God of the covenant, not to following the general fads of the culture around them.&nbsp; This sounds like a goal that might be espoused by a person today.<br /><br />What does it mean to be faithful to God in the twenty-first century?&nbsp; Does it mean going to church and Sunday school?&nbsp; Does it mean praying and reading the Bible?&nbsp; Does it mean performing acts of service?&nbsp; Does it mean witnessing to others about Jesus?&nbsp; The answer to each of these questions is "Yes" - that and so much more.&nbsp; Being faithful to God and standing against pressure to conform to the fads of the day isn't easy;it never was.<br /><br />This Sunday's bible lesson will tell the story of Josiah , the boy who became king of Judah when he was eight years old.&nbsp; Raised as a devout believer, Josiah noticed that the workship practices of Assyria had, over time, influenced the worship practices of his own people.&nbsp; So Josiah set out on a mission of reform.&nbsp; One of the reforms included the restoration of the temple.&nbsp; During this restoration, workers discovered a hidden cache of scrolls.&nbsp; Huldah then verifed the scrolls.&nbsp; After that Judah got the people together to reform and renew their covenant with God.&nbsp; is must have been difficult to call the people back to faithfulness after so long a time of doing something else.&nbsp; Consider your family's lifestyle?&nbsp; How does it conform to God's requirements?&nbsp; Or do you flow the times regardless?<br /><br />The story this Sunday will be Josiah and the Hidden Scrolls, the games and activities will be Excavation Adventure, In Like Me, Can you dig it?, Fractured Scriptures and finally our art project will be to make a special something for Father's day which is next week.&nbsp; <br /><br />Bible Verse:&nbsp; do everything God commands, and be faithful to God.&nbsp; Deuteronomy 11:22<br /><br />Bible Story:&nbsp; 2 Kings 22:1-24:5Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-19052647774865164972012-05-23T19:19:00.002-07:002012-05-23T19:19:16.597-07:00Update on Sunday school for May 27, 2012 and June 6, 2012Kindness<br /><br />The story is told in the Gospels of Jesus curing the withered hand of an unfortunate man on the Sabbath.&nbsp; Jesus healed many people during his ministry.&nbsp; His kindness toward all of God's people is shown in the many stories of his love and compassion.&nbsp; Jesus healed lepers, ate in the home of Mary and Martha, raised Lazarus from the dead, and changed the life of Zacchaeus.&nbsp;&nbsp; However, the healing of the man with the paralyzed hand is an act that angered religious leaders of the day, specifically because Jesus was healing on the Sabbath, a day of rest.<br /><br />Why was this such a problem?&nbsp; Today healing is done routinely every day of the week.&nbsp; Did Jesus merely set aside the laws of the Sabbath for more humanitarian purposes?<br /><br />This story goes straight to the authority of Jesus and his acting in the name of God.&nbsp; Jesus' healing the paralyzed man on the Sabbath did not mean that we ignore the laws of God just because this seems to be the right thing to do.&nbsp; Jesus healed the man's withered hand because God has concern and compassion for God's children at all times.&nbsp; God has shown through Jesus that God's love and compassion for God's children is more important than rituals, even those commanded by God.&nbsp; The old way of doing things was altered to show kindness to one of God's people who greatly needed it.&nbsp; Jesus showed us tht God's compassion come first.<br /><br />Can we do less as Christian's than to follow Jesus' example and show kindness to any of God's people when they need it?&nbsp; Should it matter when they might need our kindness or help?&nbsp; Children naturally reach out to others.&nbsp; Their hearts are easily touched by persons in need.&nbsp; Too often we, as adults, stifle their compassion with our more jaded, pessimistic and suspicious outlook on society.<br /><br />Encourage the children to be kind to others.&nbsp; Encourage them to be kind to one another as well.&nbsp; It is more important to be kind than it is to observe all the correct rules of the church.<br /><br />So this Sunday in Bible school, the children will have the stage set with one of the biggest conflicts Jesus had with the religious authorities.&nbsp; The Pharisees were a group of religious men who interpreted the Scriptures for the people.&nbsp; Their interpretations soon became a fairly rigit set of laws that people felt obligated to follow, even at the cost of being kind.&nbsp; Jesus knew that God wanted persons to maintain the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law, particularly when the letter of the law caused pain or suffering on the part of another human being.&nbsp; Your children will hear how Jesus deliverately challenged the sabbath laws in order to help a man who had been disabled for most of his life.&nbsp; Jesus' action now made it possible for the man to be a "whole" person in the biblical definition.<br /><br /><br /><br />Bible Verse:&nbsp; The scripture says, "It is kindness that I want"&nbsp; Matthew 12:7, Good News Bible<br />Bible Story:&nbsp; Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11<br /><br /><br />:&nbsp; <br /><br />Generosity<br /><br />What make a person generous?&nbsp; What is the true measure of a gift?&nbsp; These are questions that can be addressed&nbsp; by looking at the story of the widow's coins.&nbsp; <br /><br />Outside of the temple were thirteen receptacles to receive the gifts of the worshipers.&nbsp; There would be a loud clanging noise when the coins dropped.&nbsp; Jesus, one day, had been sitting watching people drop coins into these receptacles.&nbsp; He would have had to hear all the noise these contributions made.&nbsp; When the poor widow arrived and put her two copper coins into one of the receptacles it would have been easy to "hear" that her contribution was very small.<br /><br />The two copper coins were the smallest of the denominations of coins.&nbsp; They had very little value.&nbsp; And yet the widow gave with her heart all that she had.&nbsp; These coins probably represented her next meal.&nbsp; The rich who had been dropping coins into the receptacles were giving out of their abundance.&nbsp; They could still afford large meals, lavish homes, and richly designed clothes.&nbsp; The widow would have none of these things, even if she kept her money.&nbsp; But the widow gave to God even that which she needed, while the rich gave of their extra.<br /><br />Jesus did not condemn the gift of the weath, of the extra.&nbsp; What Jesus did ws to commend the extreme generosity of heart that caused the widow to give all she had to God.&nbsp; This generosity demonstrates a truly selfless way of living for us.<br /><br />No gift of love is too small to count, and sharing what we have and who we are with complete unselfishness does not go unnoticed by God.&nbsp; Even the smallest gift can be the most generous gift.&nbsp; It depends upon the heart.<br /><br />Children are natural givers.&nbsp; They give, without the expectation of anything in return.&nbsp; They give for the sheer joy of giving and making someone's day a little brighter.&nbsp; They can anticipate the enjoyment of the person who will receive their gifts.&nbsp; Commend these acts of generosity when you see them.&nbsp; Encourage these in the children.<br /><br /><br />Bible Verse:&nbsp; For God loves a cheerful giver&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2 Corinthians 9:7<br />Bible Story:&nbsp; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4<br />Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-12910377764394109992012-05-15T15:57:00.002-07:002012-05-15T15:57:44.188-07:00Update on Sunday Schook, May 20, 2012Update on Sunday School, May 20, 2012<br /><br />Patience<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />If anyone ever needed patience it was Abraham and Sarah. Twenty-five years had passed since God first promised to make of Abram a great nation. Now God was speaking again. Abram's and Sarai's names changed to Abraham and Sarah as a symbol of God's covenant with them. God's convenant was as everlasting convenant to be the God of a great people decscended from Abraham and Sarah. Abraham at the ripe old age of ninety-nine had a good laugh at this. This didn't seem a likely possibility. But God promised that in one year Sarah would bear a son. <br /><br /><br /><br />Sarah was having doubts that God was going to come through with tht all-important child. After all, how can one have descendants without having children and time had, by all human standards, already run out for her childbearing years.<br /><br /><br /><br />Hospitality in Bible times was more than a courtesy, it was a duty. Since Abraham and Sarah lived in the desert, visitors who were turned away might die of starvation or thirst. Besides, who knew when a stranger might end up being a friend or a welcome ally? When the three strangers came to Abraham's and Sarah's tent, Abraham greeted them and wound up entertaining God. The promise tht Sarah would bear a son was given again. This time it was Sarah that laughed. But God does not run by human time and the time had come for God to fulfill the promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great people.<br /><br /><br /><br />Abraham's and Sarah's patience and obedience were rewarded. God's promise was finally fullfilled and a son was born to Abraham and Sarah. He was named Isaac, which means "laughter". Sarah rejoiced, "God has brought laughter for me; every-one who hears will laugh with me."<br /><br /><br /><br />Patience is not a virtue that younger elementary children possess in great abundance. Waiting is pure toture for them. Help them understand that persons had to wait for God to act throughout the Bible. During this time of waiting persons almost always learned important lessons that affected them mightily. Think of the number of years persons had to wait for the coming Savior.<br /><br /><br /><br />So in this Sunday's lesson plan will will discuss how from the very beginning God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would be the start of a new nation, one whose numbers would be almost uncountable. But Sarah was quite old. The two could not conceptualize how and when this would happen. But they trusted God and were patient. Eventually, the wonderful event did happen. We all know the story of the birth of Isaac. Having patience in waiting for God's promises is hard, because God's time is not always the same as out time. We want our prayers answered now. We want our blessings now. We want everything instantly. Help your children to develop a sense of patience. Do not always give in to children's demands for whatever they want to happen now. Teach them that waiting is a virtue.<br /><br /><br /><br />The story will be called Wait for the Lord, the games and activities will include: dippety dip, The laughing game, gazillions of grains, surprise, surprise and finally we will be putting seads into pots and talking about the patience of watching a plant grow. We will also talk about how the seed has to sleep when the time is right. Warmth of the soil and water wake it up and it grows in its own special time. People grow in their time; animals grow in their time. Everything follows God's time.<br /><br /><br /><br />Bible Verse: Be patient and wait for the LORD to act. Psalm 37:7, Good News Bible<br /><br />Bible Story: Genesis 12:1-9;15:1-20;17:1-22;18:1-15;21:1-7.<br /><br />Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-53917312373124979492012-05-06T17:44:00.000-07:002012-05-06T17:44:05.826-07:00Upate on Sunday School for May 13, 2012First since this is Sunday is Mother's Day, I wanted to let you know that the youth and the children will be teaming up to read a peom about Mothers this Sunday. This should be nice for all to experience.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Update on Sunday School. (you can put the next section as part of Christ Notes)<br /><br /><br /><br />Have you ever wondered how Mother's Day got started? People started honoring mother's a very long time ago. When it first started it was called Mothering Sunday because people celebrated it the fourth Sunday during a time called Lent. Lent is the time before Easter where people think and prepare about the Easter story and what God did for us. Please the blog for fun facts as well as an informational story about Mom's and Mother's Day.<br /><br /><br /><br />First of All, some fun facts about Mother's Day to share:<br /><br /><br /><br />Mothers Day Trivia: On Mothers Day<br /><br /><br /><br />Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day. She lost her fight. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done. <br /><br />Julia Ward Howe staged an unusual protest for peace in Boston, by celebrating a special day for mothers. She wanted to call attention to the need for peace by pointing out mothers who were left alone in the world without their sons and husbands after the bloody Franco-Prussian War. <br /><br />Japan's Imperial family trace their ancestry to Omikami Amaterasu, the Mother of the World. <br /><br />Ancient Egyptians believed that 'Bast' was the mother of all cats on Earth, and that cats were sacred animals. <br /><br />In the Bible, Eve is credited with being the 'Mother of All the Living.' <br /><br />In the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother" begins with the letter M.<br /><br />Mothers Day Trivia: Highest Recorded Number of Children<br /><br />The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy. <br /><br /><br /><br />Mothers Day Trivia: Highest Number of Children in Modern Times<br /><br />The modern world record for giving birth is held by Leontina Albina from San Antonio, Chile. Leontina claims to be the mother of 64 children, of which only 55 of them are documented. She is listed in the 1999 Guinness World Records but dropped from later editions. <br /><br /><br /><br />Quotes from the Bible about Moms<br /><br /><br /><br />Exodus 20:1-12<br /><br />[1] And God spake all these words, saying,<br /><br />[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.<br /><br />[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.<br /><br />[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:<br /><br />[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;<br /><br />[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.<br /><br />[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.<br /><br />[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.<br /><br />[9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:<br /><br />[10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:<br /><br />[11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.<br /><br />[12] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.<br /><br /><br /><br />Proverbs 31:25-31 <br /><br /><br /><br />[25] Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.<br /><br />[26] She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.<br /><br />[27] She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.<br /><br />[28] Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.<br /><br />[29] Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.<br /><br />[30] Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.<br /><br />[31] Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.<br /><br /><br /><br />John 19:25-27 <br /><br /><br /><br />[25] Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.<br /><br />[26] When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!<br /><br />[27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ephesians 6:1-4<br /><br /><br /><br />[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.<br /><br />[2] Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)<br /><br />[3] That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. <br /><br /><br /><br />Colossians 3:20 <br /><br /><br /><br />[20] Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. <br /><br /><br /><br />This Sunday, I will be sharing several stories with the children. One will be how Mother's Day got started, the others stories I will be reading will be Tabby Gray and The Giant and the Fairy Skill. Below is one of the stories I will be sharing with the children this week. We will also be making My Mommy Mini Books, writing down what we know about our mom's, doing a Mother's Day anagram, and discussing several questions such as: 1. What are some way's to honor your mother? 2. Why should you listen to your mom? 3. What is one way you can bless your mom? <br /><br /><br /><br />Have you ever wondered how Mother's Day got started? People started honoring mother's a very long time ago. When it first started it was called Mothering Sunday because people celebrated it the fourth Sunday during a time called Lent. Lent is the time before Easter where people think and prepare about the Easter story and what God did for us.<br /><br /><br /><br />Then 150 years ago a woman named Anna Jarvis, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, something she thought mother's believed in doing. She called it "Mother's Work Day." <br /><br /><br /><br />After Anna Jarvis died, her daughter (also named Anna) wanted to honor all that her mother did. Anna heard her mother say that one day she hoped someone would make a special day just for mothers.<br /><br /><br /><br />So Anna worked very hard and even talked to presidents and other leaders to try to create a special day just to honor them. By 1914 (almost 100 years ago) a man named Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.<br /><br /><br /><br />It just so happens that Anna's mothers' favorite flower was the white carnation and that's why mother's often receive carnations on Mother's Day.<br /><br /><br /><br />The funny thing is, Anna ended up disliking Mother's day. She didn't want Mother's day to be all about the expensive gifts and fancy flowers but just a day to tell your mom that you love and appreciate her. So remember, moms don't need all that fancy stuff. Make her a nice card and treat her very special today (and everyday) and she won't need anything else. <br /><br /><br /><br />Mother's are very special, so special that they are mentioned in the Bible. Since the Bible is like an instruction manual for us, it gives us instructions on how to treat our mother.<br /><br /><br /><br />Do any of you know what the ten commandments are? They were rules that God gave to Moses for all of us to follow. Each commandment is very important and God gave each commandment for a reason. One of the commandments says: Honor your father and you mother, so that all may go well for you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.<br /><br /><br /><br />What does honor mean anyway? Honor can mean many things. When we listen, obey, love, appreciate, and forgive our mom that is how we honor her. That means when she asks you to do something you should do it right away without complaining. <br /><br /><br /><br />When you show you love your mom by hugging her and telling her that you love her that's another way to honor. You can also appreciate your mom by thanking her when she does things for you (cleaning the house and your clothes, making supper, helping you, etc.).<br /><br /><br /><br />Our mom won't be perfect all the time, we all make mistakes. So we should forgive our moms when they make mistakes because God asks us too.<br /><br /><br /><br />Another verse in the Bible asks us to bless our mom. It says, "Her children arise and call her blessed." Some words that describe blessed are that your mom belongs to God and we need to treat her like she's God's child. Your mom used to be a child too and she's just trying her best to help you grow and learn things. So, treat her nicely!<br /><br /><br /><br />Another way to describe blessed is to be happy. Do you make your mom happy? I'm sure you do a lot of the time and moms can be sad because of different things sometimes too, but I don't think your mom would be happy if you didn't listen to her or disobeyed her. <br /><br /><br /><br />The last verse we're going to talk about today says: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. I know that sometimes you don't always want to obey your parents but its important that you obey them because it makes God happy! <br /><br /><br /><br />One last thing. No matter how old you get your mom is your mom. Sometimes you might think that you can talk back to our parents or that you know more than them, but you don't. The Bible says to obey your parents always, not just when your a kid. Your parents want the best for you and know what they're talking about.<br /><br /><br /><br />Don't forget that we also have a heavenly father that cares and loves us no matter what. So if you don't have a mother around all the time (or even if you do) God is always there. He is there when our mother can't be.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-16310193991525120972012-04-25T16:52:00.001-07:002012-04-25T16:52:58.922-07:00Update on Sunday School for April 29, 2012LOVE<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bible Story<br /><br />Ruth 1 – 4<br /><br /><br /><br />The story of Ruth begins with Elimelech and Naomi, and their two sons, who moved to Moab because of famine in the land of Israel. Moab was a close neighbor to Judah, where the city of Bethlehem was located. The two sons married Moabite women. Unfortunately, Elimelech and both of his sons died. This left Naomi and her two Moabite daughters-in-law without anyone to care for them.<br /><br /><br /><br />Women in the society of Bible times who did not have husbands, fathers or sons to care for them were destitute. They had little opportunity to earn a living and care for themselves. Naomi heard that the famine of Israel was over and so she decided to return home, perhaps in the hope that a relative would care for her. Both of Naomi’s daughters-in-law decided to go with her in the beginning, although there was no special custom or requirement for them to do so. Orpah and Ruth had the choice of returning to the protection and care of their families—a much easier choice.<br /><br /><br /><br />Naomi told them they need not come with her since she had nothing to offer them. Naomi finally convinced Orpah to return to her own family, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi because of her love for the older women. Ruth chose to live with Naomi in one of the most famous speeches of the Bible. But in an unusual twist, she also chose to never leave Naomi, and even to make Naomi’s God her God. For Ruth to give up her homeland and all her customs to live an uncertain life in a strange land demonstrated Ruth’s great love for her mother-in-law.<br /><br /><br /><br />Together Naomi and Ruth traveled to Israel. Ruth did the gleaning from the fields to support Naomi and herself. Ruth remained faithful in her love for Naomi.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ruth went beyond obligation when she chose to go with Naomi. As Christians, we are often asked to “go the second mile” and to show love beyond that which others show. After all that is what separates Christians from other persons. Children are naturally very loving and giving. They are often willing to do anything that will make the other person happy. Encourage their loving and giving natures.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, if a person truly follows the example that Jesus set for us to follow, there are certain traits that will be obvious: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In today’s lesson the children will talk about love. <br /><br /><br /><br />The story will be Let me Go with You, and some of the activities will be, Stuck Like Glue, May I Go With You and we will be making Love Shakers. We will also be making Love Lights<br /><br /><br /><br />Bible Verse<br /><br /><br /><br />If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples<br /><br /><br /><br />John 13:35, Good News Bible<br /><br />Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-13193174133152590402012-04-16T05:00:00.000-07:002012-04-16T05:00:19.052-07:00Dinosaurs in the Bible -April 22, 20121. Are dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible? <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Dinosaur-like creatures are mentioned in the Bible. The Bible uses ancient names like “behemoth” and “tannin.” Behemoth means kingly, gigantic beasts. Tannin is a term which includes dragon-like animals and the great sea creatures such as whales, giant squids, and marine reptiles like the plesiosaurs that may have become extinct.<br /><br />The Bible's best description of a dinosaur-like animal is in Job chapter 40.<br /><br />“Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God…” (Job 40:15-19).<br /><br />The book of Job is very old, probably written around 2,000 years before Jesus was born. Here God describes a great king of the land animals like some of the biggest dinosaurs, the Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. It was a gigantic plant-eater with great muscles and very strong bones. The long Diplodocus had leg bones so strong that he could have held three others on his back.<br /><br />The behemoth were not afraid. They did not need to be; they were huge. Their tails were so long and strong that God compared them to cedars—one of the largest and most spectacular trees of the ancient world.<br /><br />After all the behemoth had died out, many people forgot them. Dinosaurs were extinct and the fossil skeletons that are in museums today did not begin to be put together until about 150 years ago. Today, some people have mistakenly guessed that the behemoth mentioned in the Bible might be an elephant or a hippopotamus. But those animals certainly do not have tails like the thick, tall trunks of cedar trees!<br /><br />Although it cannot be stated with certainty, it appears that dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible. This should not sound so strange. After all, God tells us that He created all the land animals on the 6th day of creation, the same day that he created mankind. Man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. There was never a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. From the very beginning of creation, God gave man dominion over all that was made, even over the dinosaurs.<br /><br />Have them color the page on page 2 or refer to it. (same with all handouts) <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Behemoth <br /><br /><br /><br />"Look at the Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God." —Job 40:15-19<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />2. “D” is for Dinosaur<br /><br /><br /><br />A B C D E F G<br /><br />God made the world, it’s plain to see.<br /><br /><br /><br />For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20). This verse points out that there is overwhelming evidence that God created, and that if people don’t believe it, they are without excuse. This evidence is clearly seen all around us, because functional complexity (e.g., a functioning machine) can never be developed from disorder, by chance. To explain this to young children, you can use examples such as the following: (ideas, you can add your own)<br /><br />1. Show them a picture of Mount Rushmore, and make it clear to them that the Presidents’ heads did not get there from millions of years of wind and water erosion, but by people who applied intelligence to make the carvings.<br /><br />2. Point out that airplanes and watches and computers don’t come together by chance they have been designed and made by people.<br /><br />3. Show them a pebble out of a stream, and an Indian arrowhead. Ask them to pick out the arrowhead. Discuss why they made their choice, explaining that it is easy to recognize something that has been designed. <br /><br />Hand out on next page.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A B C D E F G<br /><br />God made the world, it’s plain to see.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />H I J K L M N<br /><br />But did He make dinosaurs, and if so, when?<br /><br />The topic of dinosaurs is probably used more than anything else to convince young people that evolution is true, and that the process took millions of years. Explain to them why it is obvious that God had to make life, and since dinosaurs were living creatures, then obviously God had to make them too-they couldn’t have happened just by mere chance. Colossians 1:16 states, "All things were created by him, and for him." The “All” must include dinosaurs that once existed on the earth.<br /><br /><br /><br />Often the term “prehistoric” is used in reference to animals like dinosaurs. The term “prehistoric” means before recorded history long before man; however, (and this will be obvious in other sections of the book) the Bible is a record of history since time began, and the Bible says man was created on day six along with the land animals. (Genesis 1:24-31).<br /><br />Student Exercise:<br /><br />Have the children draw their favorite dinosaur. Emphasize how hard it is just to draw a dinosaur let alone make one. If it takes a lot of intelligence to draw a dinosaur, it must have taken MUCH MORE intelligence to make one in the first place.<br /><br /><br /><br />Hand out on next page<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />H I J K L M N<br /><br />But did He make dinosaurs, and if so, when?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />O P Q R S T U<br /><br />The Bible has the answer, God’s Word is true<br /><br /><br /><br />The Bible tells us in Colossians that in Christ "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). This means that only God knows everything, and only God always tells the truth (John 17:17). <br /><br />It is important to get across to the children that, compared to what God knows, what any human knows is almost nothing. Therefore, if we are going to find out the truth about the dinosaurs, or how the world came into existence, or how anything ever got here at all, we need to consult the one who knows everything. Stress to them that no scientist knows everything, but that the Bible tells us God knows everything, so we should go to the Bible to find the answers.<br /><br />Student Exercise:<br /><br />Have the children use an ink pen to draw a very small dot on a blank page. Then get them to take another blank page, and start making dots all over the page. They can continue doing this for a couple of minutes. Explain to them that the one dot on the page represents how much man knows, but all the other dots they have drawn on the other page are just a start in representing what God knows. Tell them that they could continue making dots FOREVER and God would still know MUCH more than that. Help them to begin to understand what it means that God has infinite knowledge. <br /><br />Hand out on next page<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />O P Q R S T U<br /><br />The Bible has the answer, God’s Word is true. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />V W X Y and Z<br /><br />We’ll learn the truth about history.<br /><br /><br /><br />Refer to Job 38:4. Here God asked Job the question, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” In other words, teach the children that God was really asking Job, “Were you there?”<br /><br />Share with them that not only does God know everything, but He has always been there. The only way we can know what happened to the dinosaurs, for instance, is to talk to someone who knows everything, who’s always been there. Tell them that only God knows everything and has always been there, and that we should go to His Word to understand this world, and even to look for clues regarding dinosaurs. <br /><br />Also share with them that the next time a teacher (or anyone) talks about “millions of years ago,” the student could ask, “Were you there?” Explain that no human being knows everything, or has always been there, so how can they really know what happened in the past? <br /><br />Student Exercise<br /><br />Give each student an M&amp;M to eat. Have some of them go outside and eat it without anyone watching. Then ask each student to prove they ate an M&amp;M. It should be obvious that those who have witnesses will have an easier time attempting to prove this than those without witnesses. However, also discuss the fact that the witnesses have to be reliable, and they may not have observed carefully enough-maybe some witnesses didn’t tell the truth. Some may use evidence such as chocolate around the mouth, or on the tongue, to “prove” they ate an M&amp;M. But this could also be interpreted as having been an ordinary piece of chocolate-not an M&amp;M. Actually, in the final analysis, they can’t PROVE they ate an M&amp;M, because it happened in the past. Explain how much easier it is to substantiate a fact when there are witnesses.<br /><br />If you want to give the students a more difficult question-ask them to prove the color of the M&amp;M they ate! In order to “prove” this, they would have had to specifically show it to someone before they ate it. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />V W X Y Z<br /><br />We’ll learn the truth about history. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Do we really know what dinosaurs looked liked or how they behaved?<br /><br /><br /><br />Putting a dinosaur skeleton together is not easy. It is often like putting together a very difficult jigsaw puzzle with many of the pieces missing or damaged. The skeletons are usually very incomplete. Many dinosaur fossils are discovered badly damaged. Bones are often found crushed or bent by the great weight of the dirt and rock above. Sometimes parts from different creatures are mixed together. This just adds to the confusion.<br /><br />Unfortunately, some scientists have not been careful enough in their descriptions of dinosaurs. They have told grand stories of how dinosaurs looked and behaved. All of these descriptions are based on guesswork - the imaginations of people who have never seen a living dinosaur. <br /><br />Some scientists have made complete pictures of dinosaurs based on just a single bone or tooth or leg. Such pictures are based on many guesses and very little facts. The scientists' ideas often turn out to be wrong when more facts are discovered. <br /><br />Dinosaur fossils are not found with labels or photographs attached showing what the animals looked like. That is why no pictures of dinosaurs are exactly right. Every dinosaur painting is sure to contain at least some wrong information. No artist ever saw the living, breathing animals - complete with skin, flesh and color. <br /><br />For instance, imagine never having seen or heard of a poodle or a peacock. One day you find the jumbled bones of one buried in the ground. You try to put the bones together to form a skeleton. And then you try to draw a picture of what the animal looked like when alive. But bones cannot tell the whole story. Even if you are a very good artist, it would be a miracle if you drew a true picture of a poodle or a peacock just from the bones and your imagination. <br /><br />If scientists could climb into a time machine and travel to the past, they could get much better information. Only then would they know the true appearance of dinosaurs or what they ate and how they really behaved. Scientists might be very surprised at what they would learn. <br /><br />Hand out on next page<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Copyright 1996 by Kevin Brockschmidt. All Rights Reserved. <br /><br /><br /><br />The Triceratops<br /><br />Some dinosaurs, like the Triceratops, had bony spikes on their heads. Others had spikes on their backs and elsewhere. If basic types of horns and spikes like these were originally created by God, then we know something about their purpose. They were not meant for fighting other dinosaurs. The head horns may have been used for getting food by lifting thick foliage, or for poking, rooting or turning plants.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After the Flood what happened to dinosaurs?<br /><br />Then the Flood was over Noah opened the Ark’s big door and let the animals free. Babies were born to each set of parents. After many years, the earth began to be filled with animals again. <br /><br />The dinosaurs lived for at least a few centuries after the Flood, but probably never in the great numbers that there once had been. No one knows exactly when they finally died out. <br /><br />After the Flood the earth was a very different place. When Noah stepped off the ship, it must have felt like getting out on another planet. Nothing would have looked familiar. Most of the world was left covered with water. Seven out of every ten spots of the globe are still under water today. <br /><br />All of the landmarks were destroyed. The Garden of Eden was gone forever. So was the whole land of Eden and every other land. Mud and rock were everywhere. Cold forbidding mountains stood where none had been before. <br /><br />Earthquakes and volcanoes still continued to plague animals and man, even after the Flood was over--and still do today on a smaller scale. <br /><br />Temperatures had become extreme. Some parts of the world got much hotter after the Flood. This eventually dried up all the water and left great deserts. In other places, snow began to fall for the first time because of freezing cold. A short ice “age” followed the Flood in some parts of the world.<br /><br />Harmful radiation from the sun (and space) probably came down in much larger doses after the Flood. The original world may have been protected from this radiation by a special atmosphere. The earth’s air may have contained a much higher amount of water which kept the weather warmer and more pleasant. Before the Flood, plants were watered by rivers, underground springs and dew--instead of by rain. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Word search<br /><br />What does a dinosaur really look like? <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Appearance<br /><br />Artist<br /><br />Behavior<br /><br />Bones<br /><br />Color<br /><br />Descriptions<br /><br />Dinosaur<br /><br />Drawing<br /><br />Eat<br /><br />Fossils<br /><br />Guesswork<br /><br />Imagination<br /><br />Leg<br /><br />Pictures<br /><br />Plants<br /><br />Puzzle<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />INSTRUCTIONS: Look for the words on the list. Circle them. Words may be hidden horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forwards, or backwards.<br /><br />The story that will be shared with the children:<br /><br />After a year of planning, our exploration of the Liscomb Bone Bed on the North Slope of Alaska was finally right around the corner. In this place were frozen, unfossilized dinosaur bones. They can be found in abundance in the coal and shale layers of these beds. It was these bones that attracted us. We hope to use these bones for chemical analysis, and samples with organic materials still present are always the best choice.<br /><br /><br />ARRIVING IN ALASKA The five of us were split into two groups for our trip to Alaska. We left from Ohio or Indiana, depending on what flights we were booked for. We were scheduled to depart from Fairbanks, Alaska the next morning by 8AM. But with some serious unexpected flight schedule changes, we weren’t sure our plans would work. But God saw to it that we arrived on time, even a few hours before our scheduled departure from Fairbanks to Umiat.<br /><br />SPECTACULAR SCENERY The flight up the coast of Alaska was unforgettable. As we were flying, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise (about 1:30 in the morning!). The mountains below were absolutely spectacular. They were snow covered, and had glaciers hugging their valleys. The rugged mountains showed their beautiful array of horns, cirques, aretes, and other gorgeous glacial carvings. Even though I was dead tired, I could not sleep. It was a geologist’s paradise!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />MOSQUITO ATTACK We had heard rumors about how bad the mosquitos were on the North Slope. But nothing prepared us for this! <br /><br />We boarded the twin-engine Navajo Chieftain for the two and a-half hour flight to Umiat. Just before landing, our pilot reached behind his seat, fumbled around in his flight bag, and grabbed his Deep Woods OFF. He began to apply his “bug stuff” liberally. I thought this was premature until we landed in Umiat on the gravel runway at 10:30 A.M. We were shocked at the swarms of mosquitos outside the plane. Had we made the right decision about coming this far and being left behind with so many mosquitos? From our vantage point inside the plane, they sounded like the angry hives of bees that my pony had kicked over when I was a boy [“Peanuts” died from this]—and they were waiting for us to come out so the feeding could begin.<br /><br />We had prepared physically for the mosquitos with 100% DEET (most bug stuff only contains a few percent DEET), mosquito head nets, and bug net shirts, but we were not prepared mentally for them. We didn’t know there would be this many.<br /><br />I have never seen a pilot work so fast. He had the plane unloaded and was up in the air again within five minutes. He didn’t even stick around to say good-bye or let us have a second look in the plane to make sure we had gotten everything. He probably took off so fast to make sure we wouldn’t change our minds, and go back with him. After the pilot left, we sat around in shock sitting on top of our gear wondering what we were doing in such a desolate place. The DEET kept the mosquitos from landing on our exposed skin, but we could do nothing about the swarms that constantly enveloped us. Had we made the right decision? Would we ever make it home alive and sane?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />UMIAT, AK—Umiat is a strange little ghost town. A generation ago the oil industry made it famous, but now no more than three people live here. O.J. is the town’s only year-round resident and self-proclaimed mayor. The town is full of abandoned trailers that look similar to those you find on construction sites. The front of the office we met at had several moose and caribou racks above the door along with a sign that read “Umiat Hilton.”<br /><br />We paid $1,000 to rent three small rafts, life jackets, and paddles (plus a few patch kits and foot pumps), which we rented from Bob and O.J. (Our rental fee also including O.J. flying to Nuiqsut to pick up the rafts ten days later). Quickly we were off to the Colville River, which is only slightly smaller in width than the Ohio or the Missouri. It is a large river, draining the entire north side of the Brooks Mountains. It was cold (from snow melt) and very muddy. We loaded our rafts, said our goodbye’s, and began our journey.<br /><br />MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Within fifteen minutes of our departure onto the Colville Buddy and Dan’s raft was out of sight. I was in the small red raft and Mike and George were in the other. Without warning Mike and George’s raft suddenly began to sink. The raft nearly sank before they were able to get to shore. George had to hold up the side of the raft and Mike had to paddle frantically to get there. It was certainly only because of God’s help they were able to get to shore before certain catastrophe. They discovered that some of their gear was on top of a valve and apparently had dislodged it, causing the leak. After getting it pumped up and rearranging some gear, they were on their way again. Knowing how cold the water was and how dangerous hypothermia would have been made Mike choose to ride in a different raft for the remainder of the trip—always listening for that foreboding sound of hissing air.<br /><br />Because the Liscomb Bone Bed was still far downstream, we wanted to make as much distance on the river as possible. (The Colville flows from south to north and ends in the Arctic Ocean.) As we drifted, we saw occasional rubble tumbling down the one hundred and fifty foot bluff to our left. Falcons soared high above. When the air was still, mosquitos were thick<br /><br />As evening approached, we decided to make camp on a high sand and gravel bar about 9:00. We were all tired and slept hard, despite the cold weather and short hours of darkness. At 3AM I was awakened by the sun shining brightly into my tent!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Alaskan wildlife is certainly beautiful. To our delight this day allowed us to see five moose and one caribou. But the day wasn’t all relaxing.<br /><br />SEPARATION! During the morning we encountered some anxious times. The river often splits into many different channels with long islands separating them. Buddy and Dan went down one channel and George, Mike, and I went down another with the other two rafts. We tried to follow Buddy and Dan, but the current was just too strong and we became separated. After traveling downstream a little further and drifting by several large adjoining channels, we didn’t know if Buddy and Dan were ahead or behind us. We didn’t know whether to wait or press hurriedly ahead. Finally, one hour later we reunited downstream. It was by God’s grace that we found each other so quickly. We were determined never to become separated again.<br /><br />As lunch approached, we came upon a three mile sand and gravel bar. It had been reported in the scientific literature that a dinosaur horn core had been found in the float (loose rock material) near here. We had made good mileage that morning so we ate lunch on the east side of the river planning to spend part of the afternoon walking the bar looking for fossils. On the west side of the river rose a 100 foot bluff. After lunch, Buddy was not feeling well; he was sick to his stomach. I was hoping to make more time today, but I also needed a healthy crew. I decided that we should pitch our tents and make camp on this island gravel bar.<br /><br />During our much-needed afternoon of relaxation, we found several pieces of fossilized and coalified wood on the bar contained within a hard tan siltstone matrix. I was hoping to get over to the 100 foot bluff, but the current was too strong to get over and back. Besides, it looked rather dangerous because the bluff was very steep and we would occasionally see rock falls tumble down the slope and into the river. I was content searching the bar for fossil material. I tried a little fishing, gazed at some moose up close, and enjoyed the windy afternoon that assisted in keeping the mosquitos at bay.<br /><br />As evening approached, it began to drizzle and the mosquitos returned. Once we got inside the tent, we found ourselves refusing to leave because of the annoying insects, not to mention the rain. But what do you when nature calls? Thank God for Ziplock bags.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We were back on the river by 8AM this morning. We drifted down the river at a pretty good pace of 4-5 mph seeing an occasional moose standing motionless in the water along the river edge. We were able to check our speed with our G.P.S. (global positioning system), which also provided location and precise distance figures. Mike became our high-tech resident expert.<br /><br />BEAR TRACKS Our lunch break was near the confluence of the Kikak River. We carefully checked some of the gravel bars here for dinosaur bones. Some have been reported here in the past. After no success on the bar, we began to work our way over toward the bluff hoping to find something there. As usual, my eyes were peeled to the ground as we worked our way through the willow bushes to the bluff. Suddenly I stopped—as I stared at the ground I saw bear tracks. Worse yet, I saw some smaller tracks—bear cubs. O.J. had warned us about grizzlies in the willows. Mother grizzlies with cubs are probably the most dangerous North American mammal. The willows (small spindly bushes about head high) were thick enough that we wouldn’t have been able to see a sleeping sow and her cubs twenty feet away. We were hoping not to surprise one. If the bear hears you coming well enough in advance, it will usually leave the area and leave you alone. But just in case, I sent Buddy and Mike back to the rafts for the twelve gauge shot gun and rifle. After checking the bluff out thoroughly, no bone material was found (and better yet, no bears).<br /><br />THE ULTIMATE FIND Just when we were starting to feel quite disappointed at not having found any bone material on the trip, that’s when it happened. Mike was ahead of George and I by about 50 yards. Buddy and Dan behind us by about the same distance. The current carried George and I swiftly by; we couldn’t get to shore for at least another 100 yards. I yelled back to Buddy and Dan to see if they could take a look at the tan rock I had spotted six inches from the water line with black coloring in it. They paddled hard, and the instant they were going to pass it by, Buddy reached out of the raft and hauled the eighty pound specimen into the boat. He motioned that we should stop. We all were able to pull over about 100 yards down stream. (Even though we were fairly close to shore, it was a struggle to get there because of the swift current close to the bank.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />God’s perfect timing<br /><br />We were hoping to make an eight mile trip today towards Ocean Point (the nearest marked map locality close to the Liscomb Bone Bed). We almost didn’t get anywhere at all. While Dan was relaxing along the river last night, he noticed a slight rise in the river. He decided to move all of our rafts, paddles, and life jackets to higher ground. This was God’s providence because the river rose one or two feet overnight and became extremely muddy. If he would not have noticed, our rafts would have been far downstream by the time we woke up the next morning. We saw God’s hand at work not only in this, but in allowing us to find the jaw bone along the river’s edge yesterday. The jaw was close enough to the river’s edge that it would have been underwater if we had floated by one day later. Thanks again Lord for your perfect timing and providential guidance.<br /><br />As we traveled down the river that morning, we made excellent time. The current was moving faster because of the increased amount of water. What would God do next? How could anything surpass the events of yesterday? For the most part, the rocks along the bluff had been horizontally bedded. The rocks consisted of loosely cemented sandstones, shales, occasionally siltstones, and coal beds. As we traveled that morning we encountered some tremendous folds and faults, highlighted by coal beds. I certainly had not expected this after all of the “boring” horizontal stratigraphy we had seen the days before. While floating along photographing folds, faults, and occasionally stopping to get a closer look at some of the rocks along the bluff, we began to hear enormous noises in the distance. Mike was the first to hear them. We wondered if someone was shooting a gun or cannon. As we rounded a large bend, to our amazement, we began to see what was happening.<br /><br /><br /><br />Awesome geology in motion<br /><br />Ahead of us, on our left was a sheer cliff, approximately 150 feet high and one half mile long. The strongest current of the river was pulling us towards the cliff, as it did most of the time. We were alarmed. In front of us we could see the cliff giving away, producing massive rock falls which were careening into the water below. This is what we had been hearing for the last half hour upstream. We began to furiously paddle, steering the boats to our right to get out of the main current on our left. Floating along the edge of this cliff would have meant certain death. The rock falls were so continuous and large we would have either been sunk by rocks falling in our boats or capsized by the waves produced from the rocks hitting the water. Finally, after twenty minutes of hard paddling, we made it to a gravel bar across the river from the falls. <br /><br />Exhausted, we pulled the boats up to the beach and watched in utter astonishment from our vantage point a quarter mile away. It was like watching fireworks. You didn’t know where the next big one was going to happen. The rockfalls were continuous, one happening somewhere along the cliff at all times. Some of the boulders would plunge the full height of the cliff, landing in the water creating splashes twenty feet high or more. The falls were the result of a combination of processes and factors. First, as we had already seen upstream the bluff was inherently unstable. Small falls and slides had already been witnessed. The rocks making up the bluff all crumble very easily. Secondly, the strongest current of the river was at the base of the bluff, causing tremendous amounts of erosion. The river was carrying away every bit of talus building up at the cliff base. The bottom of the bluff simply could not build out. This created the sheer nature of the cliff. Thirdly, the warm sun was melting permafrost at the top of the cliff and creating muddy waterfalls which flowed over the edge of the tundra and into the river below. I suspect this was the catalyst and lubricant which was making the falls so continuous.<br /><br />This was one of the most amazing geologic spectacles I have ever seen. It was geology in motion. Watching along the half mile cliff base, no one point could be observed for more than ten seconds without at least one rock falling into the water. Watching the incredible degradation of the cliff before our eyes, we wondered how long this process could continue until the cliff disappeared. How long has this landscape been in existence? 25 years? 100 years? Could it last 1,000 years? Could this process occur for hundreds of thousands of years? The cliff decomposing before our eyes was direct evidence for a young age of the cliff, and indirect evidence for a young age of the river, and the earth. There is just no other reasonable way to explain why the cliff is still here and hasn’t completely eroded away.<br /><br />After a nice lunch without the aid of mosquito netting, we reluctantly left our paradise, looking over our shoulders for a final glimpse of the spectacular falls. The distant booms continued for an hour as we floated away. The river began to split into many channels. We wanted to stay on the west side of the river, but the wind became stronger than the current, and we ended up in the eastern channels, much to our dismay. No progress was made down river. Occasionally, it was faster and less tiring to get out of our boats and pull them along the beach instead of trying to paddle. Finally, we were forced to pull over and wait for the wind to die down.<br /><br />On shore, the Alaskan tundra has no trees. The largest plant life here are small willow bushes, no higher than your head. They like to grow next to rivers and in low areas near a ravine or stream where they can find plenty of moisture. Mostly, the tundra is covered with grasses and a half dozen different types of wild flowers. I didn’t know their names, but we saw red, several varieties of blue, and yellow ones. One flower I didn’t expect to see north of the Arctic Circle was the dandelion. They are not prolific, but they are here, strong and healthy. I was disappointed to find somebody’s trash in this little clearing amongst the willows. There were several tin cans (one was Spam), beer cans and other bits of waste left behind. This wasn’t the only time I came across trash. I was angry that someone would spoil the pristine Alaskan tundra like this.<br /><br />Soon the wind died down and our two hour siesta was over. Paddling for a long time, and still fighting the breeze, we passed through the main channel and made it into one of the western channels. We still weren’t quite sure where we were on the map. Apparently the channels in this part of the river change so much that it is difficult to keep the maps updated. Our G.P.S. helped, but the coordinates it gave us didn’t quite match with the map (it doesn’t always give an accurate reading). Very tired, and yet still wanting to make more progress towards Ocean Point, we stopped and had dinner about 7:30 on a sand bar. We ate quickly and began to talk about trying to make it to the bone beds that evening. However, the Lord had other plans.<br /><br /><br /><br />The specimen Buddy hauled in turned out to be the jaw of a duck billed dinosaur we have temporarily identified as Lambeosaurus. Others had expected this dinosaur may be present in Alaska, but until our find, the skull bones have never been found to prove it. It turns out the jaw we found is twice the size of any dinosaur yet found in Alaska. From our estimation, this jaw represents an animal at least 40 feet long. A jaw this large was surprising to us, because most of the previously reported Alaskan bone material has been from juvenile dinosaurs.<br /><br />We were very excited! We had found our first bit of bone material. We stopped our boats and prepared to walk along the bank back upstream. We wanted to see if any more bone material was present. The current was moving fast along the edge, and the cold, muddy water was certainly over our heads. As always, when we stopped, we gingerly stepped out of the boats. But this time, Mike slipped, and nearly went up to his waist in water and mud. It was a wake up call for all of us to take our time and be careful. As we walked back upstream, we found several other large pieces of bone (we think they are limb bones from the same animal) and some additional fossil wood specimens. The large pieces of tan siltstone containing the bones seemed to be weathering out of the bank behind us. Who knows how much of the Lambeosaurus had rolled down the bank and ended up in the bottom of the river. We were all praising the Lord that we had been allowed to find something so amazing!<br /><br />After collecting everything we could find, we loaded the rafts and went a short distance downstream to set up camp. We settled in for a nice afternoon amidst the wild flower aroma and warmer weather. By 10PM many of us settled down for sleep, the sun still brightly shining. As I lie in bed I hear various sounds: the mosquitos outside, cliff rubble periodically crashing into the river, gurgling muddy river rapids, and falcons nesting high above us as they cry like baby kittens. George is quietly singing praises to our mighty Creator.<br /><br />Thinking back over the day, it has absolutely been amazing. Thanks Lord for your perfect timing, and giving us the privilege to do your work.Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-27860646911295424242012-03-30T07:21:00.002-07:002012-03-30T07:21:39.336-07:00Palm Sunday Lesson Plans<div> <div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Introduction</span></strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">Based on the Palm Sunday story, Hanna’s Parade is about the donkey that carried Jesus into </span></strong><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">Jerusalem</span></strong><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">. </span></strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna’s Parade</span></strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Once there was a young donkey named Hanna. She lived with a merchant named Boaz. Each day, He would load merchandise on his donkeys and travel to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">. There, he would sell them in the marketplace.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna was unable to go. She could only walk a short distance before she would get tired and have to stop. If anything were placed on her back, she would collapse under the weight. Hanna was so sad. She wanted to work like the other donkeys.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Boaz loved Hanna. He brought in wise men from all over the country to examine her. They poked and prodded, but nobody could cure her.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“We don’t know what the problem is,” said one of the wise men. “She may never be able to work.”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Boaz was very sad. He didn’t know what to do.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Don’t worry Hanna,” said Boaz. “God created you for a reason.”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Each day, Hanna watched Boaz leave for </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">. She had to stay in the stable. After the servants fed her, she would be alone for the rest of the day.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna prayed, “Dear God, I want to be healthy and go to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">.”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">She sat down in the warm hay and fell asleep, dreaming of traveling to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">The next day, Boaz had an idea. His servants took Hanna to the front of the house. There, she could watch the people pass on their way to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“I think you will be happier here,” said Boaz as he rubbed Hanna’s neck.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna watched her master leave for </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">. This was a nice change, but she really wanted to join them. Hanna imagined what it would be like in the city.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">It must be wonderful, she thought.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Around </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">noon</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">, two men came and untied Hanna. One of the servants questioned the men.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Why are you untying my master’s donkey?”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly,” said the men.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Startled by their explanation, the servant let them take Hanna.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna wondered where she was going. She was getting very tired, but did not want to stop.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">They took her to a man named Jesus.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">He leaned down and whispered to Hanna, “Do not be afraid. God’s power is strongest in those that are weak.”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna heard the words, but didn’t know exactly what they meant.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">The men with Jesus placed their cloaks on Hanna. Her legs began to shake and she thought she might fall down. Then, Jesus sat on her back. She had never had anyone ride her before. He was so heavy, how could she carry him?</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Let’s go to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">,” said Jesus as he patted Hanna’s neck.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Hanna took a step and then, another one. With each step, she felt stronger. Soon, she was trotting confidently towards </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“I’m going to </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">!” she shouted.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">As they approached the city, many people lay down cloaks and palm branches in their path. They also shouted praises.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel!”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Others shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Still others added, “Long live the King!”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">The streets were lined on each side with people praising Jesus. And there in the middle of it all was Hanna. She was leading the parade through the middle of the city straight for the marketplace.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Boaz noticed all the excitement.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“What’s going on?” he asked one of the people heading towards the parade.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Don’t you know?” asked the man. “Jesus is coming!”</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Boaz had heard about Jesus and wanted to see him. He left one of his servants to watch the merchandise and ran towards the crowd.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">The crowd was huge and Boaz was a small man. He fought his way through the crowd until he was in front of the </span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Temple</span><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Jesus climbed off Hanna and walked towards Boaz. He looked directly at him.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Her faith has healed her,” said Jesus.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">“Thank you Lord,” said Boaz.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">Boaz ran to Hanna and threw his arms around her. He was so happy.</span><br /><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt;">That evening, Hanna carried the largest load back home. She told the other donkeys all that had happened. They all praised God for her healing.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: #339966; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">THE END</span></strong><br /><br /><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Hanna’s Parade – Key Concepts</span></strong><b><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">A Parable About Faith &amp; Healing</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">1. Hanna wanted to work like the other donkeys. Her heart’s desire was to serve her master and work like everyone else. The illness made it impossible for her to work. You must remember that God wants to give you the desires of your heart. It is His will for you to be healthy, happy and fully capable of giving Him your best.</span></div><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">2. The wise men that examined Hanna couldn’t solve the problem. God has given knowledge to doctors, scientists and healthcare professionals. In addition, He has placed healing abilities within your body and filled the earth with plants, minerals and chemicals that can be used to treat illness. But you must remember that God is the ultimate Healer/Doctor. When you place your trust in God and put His Word first in your life, it makes healing, whether natural, through medical assistance, or through the supernatural all that more certain.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">3. The wise men unwisely gave an evil report (negative confession): “She may never be able to work.” Your words are capable of releasing faith or doubt and unbelief. It is important that you never say words that are contrary to God’s Word and reject anything that you hear that is inconsistent with what you know you have in Christ. When you speak in agreement to God’s Word, you are always speaking the truth.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">4. Boaz had faith in God. He knew that it was not God’s will for Hanna to be sick and unable to work. You cannot do your best for God if you are hindered by sickness or lack.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">5. Hanna asked God to heal her. God always hears the prayers of believers, and faith-filled prayers are always answered.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">6. Boaz was inspired to tie Hanna up in front of his house. As believers, God is always at work in your life. He gives you inspiration to do the things to help others. It is your responsibility to have a willing spirit and listen to the Holy Spirit’s direction. When you have your spiritual ears tuned in, you can be most effective in helping others and doing God’s work. Don’t be surprised to see God at work in your life. Be ready to be obedient to His request. It may seem strange, but it will always be in agreement to His Word.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">7. As Hanna watched the people head towards </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">, she imagined herself healthy, strong and traveling with them. This is an important step for all believers. God sees you healthy, prosperous and full of joy. Changing a self-image is an important step to realizing your full potential. Start seeing yourself the way God sees you.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">8. After the men took Hanna to Jesus, she felt tired and doubts entered her mind, but in her heart (spirit) she still believed she was healed and would go to </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">. This is real faith. Faith knows you have something when you can’t see, taste, or touch it. Faith is not hope. Hope is in the future. Faith is right now! When you study the Bible and pray, your faith will increase. Just like exercise will build muscles, speaking and reading God’s Word will build your faith where you can know you have your prayer answered before you see it or feel it.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">9. Jesus told Hanna, “Do not be afraid. God’s Power is strongest in those that are weak.” It is important that you never have any fear. Fear is the opposite of faith and it is in fact a sin. When you accept Jesus as your Lord, you receive a new spirit. You are no longer weak because Jesus becomes your strength. And you do not need to fear because God’s love will remove all your fear.</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">10. When Jesus said, “Let’s go to </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">” he was releasing his faith to heal Hanna. When you speak faith-filled words that are in agreement with God’s Word, miracles happen! Hanna heard the words and agreed with them. As she took the first step of faith and shouted in agreement with Jesus, her healing was complete and she was on her way to </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">!</span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">11. After Hanna was healed, she joyfully served her master and shared her story with the other donkeys. What a wonderful story you can share with your friends when you see miracles in your life! Start believing today that God makes good things happen in your life every day. Expect miracles and you will be amazed at what God will do!</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">Putting It All Together</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">Faith comes from hearing the Word of God.</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">You can build your faith by speaking God’s Word and only speaking things that agree with the Bible.</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">You will get your prayers answered when you ask in agreement with God’s will, believe in your heart that God heard your prayer and that you have what you asked, even if you do not see it, hold it or feel it.</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">Confession (speaking, believing, knowing) comes before possession.</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;">Most people want to see, feel or hold something first before they will believe they have it. This is backwards. It takes no faith to believe in something you see or are already holding. Faith says: “I believe I have it” and then you do have it. That is the God-kind of faith.</span></strong><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">LET'S PRAY </span></b><b><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></b><br /><div align="center" class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">**************************************************** <br />Dear God, thank You for giving us times of <br />joy and celebration. Help us to remember<br />that Jesus is the King over all things and <br />we need to praise and worship Him.<br />In Jesus' Name. Amen.<br />**************************************************** </span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">We will also be making palm’s leaves and coloring in a Palm Sunday picture as well as an anagram about Easter.</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"><strong><u>Below you will see an extra story that I will be reading while the kids are eating there snacks.</u></strong></span></div><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 18pt;">The King Is Coming!</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The dusty roads leading into </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"> were anything but quiet. A buzz of excitement filled the air as preparations for <b>Passover</b>, the biggest holiday of the year, were being made. It seemed that <i>everyone</i> from <i>everywhere</i> was trying to get to </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to celebrate. But it wasn't only people . . . </span></div><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The roads were crowded with donkeys and camels which was the common form of transportation, and not only that, most people also brought other animals with them. The bleating of sheep, the mooing of cows and the cooing of doves could all be heard, as well as the laughing and singing of children. The mood was boisterous and joyous as people greeted old friends and family members they hadn't seen since the previous year. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Hey! There's Uncle Ezra and Aunt Mary." Joshua excitedly exclaimed to his father. "Is it all right if I go the rest of the way with them?" he asked. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "If it's okay with them, I don't mind," his father replied. "Just make sure to hold onto that goat! If that goat gets away, there will be no feast for you, young man," his father teased as he toussled Joshua's hair. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Holding onto that goat was no small feat for Joshua. It seemed that the animal was always wanting to go in the wrong direction, and when it <i>did</i> go the right way it was only because it was trying to get into another person's feed sacks. Joshua tugged and pulled, and with much struggle, finally caught up to his Uncle Ezra, Aunt Mary, and their children. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That goat of yours is giving you a difficult time, is it?" Uncle Ezra questioned with a grin. Joshua gave the rope another tug and nodded. "Well, we will be there shortly," Uncle Ezra said. "I'll take the goat off your hands for a little while. You and Samuel haven't seen each other in so long; you have a lot of catching up to do. Go, run and play, but . . . remember to stay close. Don't go wandering off where we can't see you." </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Joshua and his cousin Samuel pulled a couple of figs out of their sacks and dashed to the edge of the road to sit under a tree to have their snack. They chattered almost non-stop about the Passover. "No school for eight whole days!" Joshua said excitedly. "Just think of the fun we can have!" </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Samuel was more excited about the celebration meals. "There's going to be <i>so much food!"</i>&nbsp; he exclaimed. "Not only are we out of school for eight days, but we also get to <i>eat</i> for eight days!" The boys were so caught up in their excitement, they forgot that the crowd was moving along, passing them by. Uncle Ezra and Aunt Mary were nowhere to be seen. Jumping up quickly, they hurriedly squeezed their way through the crowd trying to catch up, hoping that they hadn't been missed. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the boys were trying to catch up to Samuel's parents, they passed a small building that had a mother donkey and her young colt tied to a post. "Aw, look at the little colt," Samuel said gently, as he reached out and tried to pet it. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>"Yee Haw!"</b> the mother donkey screeched, unhappy that someone was trying to touch her baby. Samuel quickly pulled his hand back and put it in his pocket. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the two boys stood there admiring the little colt, two men, who were Jesus' disciples, came along and started to untie the donkey and the colt. <b>"Yee Haw!"</b> the donkey screeched again. Hearing the commotion, the owner came out of the building. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "What are you doing?" he questioned. "Why are you loosing the animals?" </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The two disciples, having had a previous discussion with Jesus, were ready for this question and knew just what to say. "The Lord needs these animals," was the simple reply they gave the owner. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The owner didn't question further. He let the two men take the animals. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now, that made Samuel and Joshua curious. They wanted to know who the "Lord" was and why he needed the donkey and the little colt. They followed closely and quietly behind the two men. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just outside the town, they watched as the men took off their overcoats and laid them on the little colt. Samuel and Joshua were quite surprised that the little colt wasn't fearful at all, and this time even the mother donkey didn't seem to mind that someone was touching her baby. They watched as a man got up on the colt and started riding it into town. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "How can he do that?" they heard someone from the crowd ask. "How can he get on and ride a little colt that has never been trained?" </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "And just look at that mother donkey," someone else exclaimed. "She doesn't seem to mind at all!" </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Most of the people in the crowd recognized the man who was riding the little colt. They had heard his teachings, and many had seen at least one miracle. <i>"It's Jesus! <b>It's Jesus!"</b></i> they loudly proclaimed. Many of them took the garments they had brought with them for the week of celebration and laid them on the ground. Other people had brought palm branches on their trip to fan themselves, and they laid those on the ground. Some of them used their palm branch fans to wave in the air, causing a breeze to keep Jesus cool and comfortable. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even the children joined in! Samuel, Joshua, and some of the other young people climbed nearby trees to get more palm branches to lay on the ground. They made a long carpet out of clothing and palm branches, reaching all the way down the road and into town for the donkey and the colt carrying Jesus to walk on. All the while they were laying garments and palm branches on the ground, they were waving and shouting, <b>"HOSANNA! HOSANNA! Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord! BLESSED BE THE KING! HOSANNA!"</b> </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The people in the crowd had recognized that day that JESUS is the KING of all the earth. They recognized Him as their Messiah who would one day rule over everything. But there were a few people that <i>were not</i> happy about all this. Some of the Pharisees (teachers in the temple) told Jesus to tell the people to stop shouting and to stop calling Him the King, and to stop worshipping Him. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jesus responded to the Pharisees saying: "If these people were to be quiet and not worship Me as their King, then the <i>rocks</i> would cry out in worship." Jesus and the donkey, and the colt continued on their way into the city of </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">, as the shouts of the people continued. <b>"HOSANNA! HOSANNA! Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord! BLESSED BE THE KING! HOSANNA!"</b> </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Joshua and Samuel were excited and had certainly never seen anything like that before, but they were beginning to get nervous and worried. They were afraid they were going to be scolded for not staying nearby. When they finally reached Samuel's parents, they timidly tried to explain. "Please don't be angry. There was such a huge crowd of people, and there was so much happening, we couldn't help it. We got lost in the crowd." </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They were pleasantly surprised when they were told that Uncle Ezra, Aunt Mary, and the other children had also been slowed down by the great crowd of people who gathered around Jesus, and they had kept their eyes on the boys the whole time. They all agreed that it was a wonderful way to begin the great Passover week celebration. </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">THINK! </span><br /><ul type="disc"><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Why were so many people going to </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jerusalem</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">?</span></li><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">How many days did they celebrate Passover?</span></li><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Who untied the donkey and the colt?</span></li><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">What did the people spread on the road?</span></li><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">What did the people shout?</span></li><li class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">What was Jesus' reply when the Pharisees told Him<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to make the people stop worshipping Him?</span></li></ul><div class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><br /></div><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">REMEMBER: </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">Jesus is the King! </span><br /><div class="yiv834652178MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><br /></div><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">A VERSE TO LEARN </span><br /><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Blessed be the King that cometh in the name<br />of the Lord" (Luke </span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">19:38</span><span style="color: #037566; font-size: 13.5pt;">). </span><br /></span>&nbsp; <div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-8104447983433875352012-03-14T09:09:00.001-07:002012-03-14T09:10:11.575-07:00Update on Sunday School for March 18, 2012THE WACKY WORSHIP WORKSHOP<br /><br /><br />Worship God<br /><br />Welcome to the wacky worship workshop...where we learn about building our relationship with Jesus.<br /><br /><br /><br />LESSON ONE - WORSHIP GOD<br /><br />The set: set up the room like a workshop with all kind of wacky inventions. The weirder it looks the better. Try obtaining some old science equipment or old computer components that can be taken apart to make the room look like a crazy inventor inhabits the room.<br /><br />This week: We will discover that the first thing that must go into our relationship with Christ is worship. The crazy inventor will try to create an invention that doesn't have any use or purpose...(the purpose of our existence is to worship and glorify God. If we don't recognize and acknowledge who God is our relationship is hollow and empty and useless)<br /><br />GOALS<br /><br />To teach the children that:<br /><br />• That we need to recognize who God is. <br /><br />• God wants us to tell him how wonderful he is <br /><br />• We need to be more excited about how awesome God is than about how great Brett Farve is. <br /><br />• The first thing we should do when we pray is worship God because of who he is. <br /><br />Characters needed: The crazy inventor, his faithful assistant, smudge (who always tries to wreck stuff) one or two workshop workers and Einstein the puppet and Bobo the puppet. <br /><br />RULES<br /><br />It sometimes seems to get old to review the rules week after week, but it is very important to do it anyways. Maintaining control is crucial to effective teaching.<br /><br />1. No illegal movement: Stay put in the workshop...hands and feet to yourself <br /><br />2. No interference: Quiet in the workshop...great minds at work <br /><br />3. Go for the touch down: Lets have fun praising the Lord <br /><br />PRAYER<br /><br />Remember to spend time in prayer this week for the children in our service. God is able to do great and powerful things when we seek his face. God has great things in store for us this week. Have you been faithful to seek his anointing and leading?<br /><br />OPENING<br /><br />The crazy inventor comes in with his arms loaded with junk and is going to build something wonderful (but he doesn't know what). He proceeds to build adding cranks that don't crank anything and buttons that don't work. He can carry on about how wonderful this invention is until he is done and then can't figure out what it is for. The leader who is dressed as a worker in the workshop can explain that everything needs a purpose or intended use. She can go on to explain that God created boys and girls to worship him.<br /><br />MEMORY VERSE<br /><br />(Psalm 96: 9 Worship the Lord because he is Holy. NCV)<br /><br />Einstein can be heard in the puppet stage mimicking what is being said by the leader.<br /><br />Leader: Who is that? What is going on back there. Wait a minute, that sounds like Einstein . <br /><br />Einstein (comes up) Hello everyone. I am Einstein the elephant and I never forget. Why I am so smart I even amaze myself. I am so smart I don't need to come to church. I am so smart I know everything. Did you hear me back there? I knew all that stuff.<br /><br />Leader: It sounded to me like you were repeating everything I said. <br /><br />Einstein: (sounding indignant) I most certainly was not. I AM THE SMARTEST ELEPHANT IN THE WORLD!!!<br /><br />Leader: I am glad to hear that. Maybe you could help me teach the kids a memory verse today then.<br /><br />Einstein: (sounding a bit scared now) a memory verse???<br /><br />Leader: yeah, you can do that can't you?<br /><br />Einstein: Of course I can! What is the memory verse?<br /><br />Leader: It is a real simple one today. Listen closely. Worship the Lord because he is Holy. Psalm 96:9<br /><br />Einstein: Oh that is easy. Which ship did the lord make holes in? Psalm 96:9 See I told you I was sooooo smart.<br /><br />Leader: Einstein, You got it all wrong.<br /><br />Einstein: I did? Well, I just didn't hear good. Tell me one more time and I will get it this time for sure.<br /><br />Leader: Ok, maybe the kids can help me out this time. Ready? Worship the Lord because he is holy. Psalm 96:9<br /><br />Einstein: Oh I got it this time. Worship the sword because it can make you holy. Psalm 96:9 There you have it. You have just witnessed the most intelligent elephant recite a memory verse.<br /><br />Leader: Well, you recited something but it wasn't the memory verse.<br /><br />Einstein: It wasn't? Are you sure? I just know that I am super smart. Leader: How about we say it for you one more time? Third times a charm. Ready kids? Worship the Lord because he is holy. Psalm 96:9<br /><br />Einstein: Ohhhhh I have it now. Worship the Lord because he has holes all over. How was that?<br /><br />Leader: Terrible!! Just terrible. It is Worship the Lord because he is Holy. Psalm 96:9<br /><br />Einstein: Well don't get your long johns in an uproar. I can do it now. Worship the Lord because he is holy. Psalm 96:9. There! Did I do it?<br /><br />Leader: Einstein, you did it! You finally did it! That was great!<br /><br />Einstein: Really? Of course it was. After all I am the smartest elephant in the world.<br /><br />Leader: Naturally, I am glad you helped us out today.<br /><br />Einstein: I have to go now. Thanks for letting me come today.<br /><br />Leader: Thanks for coming Einstein. See you later.<br /><br />SKIT<br /><br />The lunch bell rings and all the workers run and grab their lunch boxes. Smudge pulls an orange out of his lunch box and is trying to decide how to get it cut open. The other workers offer suggestions such as cutting it with a comb, using a fingernail clipper, and finally using a hammer at which time the orange is smashed beyond recognition. The leader can interject at this point and call attention to the fact that a hammer was not created to open an orange. It was created to pound nails. When it is used for other things it loses its value. God created people to worship him..often times we choose to worship other things like money or material possessions. We need to remember what we were created to do. God created us to glorify God.<br /><br />PUPPET SHOW<br /><br />Bobo comes up yelling<br /><br />Bobo: War ship? Help!! Save me! Where did it go? Was it a big war ship? Were there lots of soldiers on it? Oh what am I going to do? I am tooo young to die. I hate wars. OH help me please help me.<br /><br />Leader: What in the world are you talking about? Nobody said anything about a ship.<br /><br />Bobo: Oh yes they did. I heard them with my very own super sonic ears. I distinctly heard the kids yelling about a war ship. They were afraid it was going to make them holy all over. Hey, they don't look like they have holes all over to me. What's the big idea? Haven't you heard it is not nice to scare people like that?<br /><br />Leader: Oh Bobo, you just didn't listen carefully. The kids were just saying the memory verse. They said worship not war ship. The verse is Worship the Lord because he is holy. We are learning how important it is to worship the Lord and tell him how awesome he is.<br /><br />Bobo: Oh, I get it. I knew that. We worship the Lord because he is holy. We worship him because he is so cool and so radical. And because he is the greatest and most incredible and because he is bigger than the whole universe.<br /><br />Leader: That is great Bobo. You do know a lot about worshiping the Lord.<br /><br />Bobo: I tell him all those things when I pray every day.<br /><br />Leader: That is fantastic! The most important thing we can do is worship God.<br /><br />Bobo: Right on Dude!<br /><br />Leader: Well, bobo, We need to get on with our lesson.<br /><br />Bobo: Ok. I will listen from my lounge chair back here while I sip soda and eat my 14 candy bars.<br /><br />GAMES<br /><br />Crazy uses... you will need two bags with common household items. The object of the game will be for the teams to come up with as many wacky but possible uses for an object other than its intended use. One team will pull an item out of a bag. (Have a white board and a leader to write all of the uses down) The team will then call out uses as the leader writes them down. Set a timer for 2 minutes. When the two min. are done the next team selects an item and does the same thing. Teams get one thousand points for each use.<br /><br />OBJECT LESSON<br /><br />Smudge comes in with a pile of pictures of things you are sure the kids will get excited , Nintendo, Play Station, baseball players and other athletes, celebrities He asks the children to show their level of excitement about these things and cheer if they really like them. Then the inventor comes in with a picture of Jesus to hold up. He explains to the kids that God created us to worship him above all else and yet we often choose to cheer about worldly things more than about Jesus and how awesome he is. What we cheer the loudest for is most important. <br /><br />BIBLE LESSON<br /><br />Tell the story of Jesus riding in on a donkey and the people waving palm branches and shouting hosanna.<br /><br />ALTER CALL<br /><br />(you will need a small cup of water and a paper towel) Tell the children the empty cup represents them. Fill it with water and explain that the water represents our praise. Then continue by showing the paper towel and explaining that the paper towel represents God. We can fill our lives with praise, but it doesn't do God any good unless we give it to him. God is wanting and waiting for us to give him our praise. When we give him our praise he soaks it up (put paper towel in the cup to soak up some water). Then God blesses us with wonderful things (squeeze the water from the paper towel onto the cup) We were created to worship God. God is waiting for us to worship him. We can't keep it to ourselves.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Prayers to Worship God<br /><br />This is the way we pray to God,<br /><br />Pray to God, pray to God,<br /><br />This is the way we pray to God,<br /><br />So early Sunday morning. <br /><br /><br />This is the way we sing to God,<br /><br />Sing to God, sing to God,<br /><br />This is the way we sing to God,<br /><br />So early Sunday morning. <br /><br /><br />This is the way we clap for God,<br /><br />Clap for God, clap for God,<br /><br />This is the way we clap for God,<br /><br />So early Sunday morning. <br /><br /><br />We use these things to worship God,<br /><br />Worship God, worship God,<br /><br />We use these things to worship God,<br /><br />So early Sunday morning.Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-54637375317826861562012-03-14T09:07:00.000-07:002012-03-14T09:07:42.406-07:00Update on Sunday School for March 18, 2012Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-80763931574140379482012-03-14T07:51:00.026-07:002012-03-14T07:59:43.147-07:00KAIROS Prison Ministry<div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">A Message from Wayne Hillis . . .</span></i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">As many of you know I am active in the KAIROS Prison Ministry at Phillips State Prison. I feel strongly that I was called into this ministry and I can tell you it is a great joy to participate. I do not know of anywhere you can see God working in so many lives at one time as during our Kairos Weekend. Our goal is to bring the love of Jesus Christ to the incarcerated, who have little hope&nbsp;or joy in their life.&nbsp;</span></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everyone is not called into this ministry and many do not want to go inside a prison. However, there are several ways you can participate in this ministry from the outside, and I ask that you please join us. Our next weekend will be held from April 19th through April 22nd.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">We ask that you pray for our mission, for each of the Team Volunteers who will take the love of Jesus Christ into the prison, and for each of the residents inside who will participate in the weekend.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">We will have Prayer Wheels available for you to sign up or you can put us on your daily prayer list.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">We invite you to send letters to the 42 inside residents who will participate in the weekend. Short letters of support, encouragement, or scriptural references for inspiration. These letters will be included with many other cards and letters in the participants personal AGAPE Bags on Saturday.</span></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are so inclined you are encouraged to make cards and posters,&nbsp;with themes of encouragement to the men. Children's AGAPE is most welcomed. Cards and letters from children are very moving to men who have not seen their children in 25 years in some cases.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can bake homemade cookies which we will take into the prison. They must, however, be homemade cookies only. No store bought, no muffins etc etc.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">On Sunday April 22nd at 2pm we will have the Closing Ceremony. You are invited to attend this moving Ceremony at which time men will give there testimonies during Open Mic. If you have ever considered the possibility of going inside with our Team, this is a great opportunity to test the waters and see what it is like.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last but not least you may make financial contributions to the Ministry. It costs about $3,000 to facilitate a Weekend at Phillips, which we do twice a year. Additionally there are hundreds of similar Kairos Communities throughout Georgia, the US, and other countries, which need support.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of these options show the Wonderful Love of Jesus Christ which you and I experience and these men are so moved by the fact that so many people Love them who have never met them and are Praying for them, baking cookies, writing letters and&nbsp; other AGAPE. Many of them have never felt love form anyone and in most cases certainly not recently.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please consider supporting this Ministry in some way. You will be Blessed and a Blessing to Others. If you need additional information Please contact me by email or phone 912 604 6658.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><br /><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">May God Richly Bless You. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wayne Hillis</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-1319606665673771422012-03-06T11:14:00.003-08:002012-03-06T11:14:11.962-08:00Update on Sunday School for March 11, 2012<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Ask them the following questions:<br />1. What is your favorite toy? Do you take care of it? Why?<br />2. Would you rather have class in a nice clean room or a dirty junky room? Why?<br />3. Should we take care of the things God has given us? Why? <br /><br />Next, ask the kids ways in which they can take care of their toys, the church and all of the wonderful things God has given to us</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">God gives each of us special gifts or talents. God gives us these talents to serve others. Today we will see that God wants us to happily help others and not grumble as we work. God will give us the strength we need to complete the jobs He gives us.</span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="pagecontentbold1"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Discussion Questions:</strong></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />1. How should we use the gifts and talents God gives us? <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">(To serve others.)</span></em><br /><br />2. Should we grumble or be upset when asked to help? <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">(No)</span></em><br /><br />3. Does God help us do our jobs?<em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (Yes, He gives us our talents &amp; strength to do the jobs He gives us.) </span></em><br /><br />4. Does God give everyone the same talents or gifts? <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">(While we may have the same gift or talent that someone else has, God makes each of us special in our own way.) </span></em><br /><br />5. Since God made each of us special can anyone else do the job exactly the same way we could? <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">(No) </span></em><br /><br />6. Why is it important to serve others? <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">(It makes God happy to see us helping others.) </span></em><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">THEME: Using our gifts to serve and encourage others.<br /><br />OBJECT: A picture of a flock of geese flying in formation.<br /><br />SCRIPTURE: We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8 (NIV) <br /><br />You have probably heard someone call another person who has done something foolish, "A silly goose!" Well, I can tell you that geese are not silly! We can learn a lot from the goose. For example, I am sure that most of you probably know that when geese fly, they fly in a "V" formation. Have you ever wondered why the geese fly in a "V" formation?<br /><br />Recent scientific studies have given us the answer. It has been learned that as each goose flaps its wings, it gives a lift to the one immediately following. It has been determined that flying this way gives the geese about 70% more flying range.<br /><br />Of course, that means that the lead goose is working harder. When the lead goose gets tired, he falls back into the formation and another takes his place. Now, that's team work!<br /><br />If you have ever seen a flock of geese flying, you have also noticed that all the time they are flying, the geese are "honking." They do this to encourage one another. It is always easier to do something difficult when you know you aren't flying alone, isn't it?<br /><br />Sometimes, a goose becomes sick or is injured and falls to the ground. When that happens, two other geese go down and stay with it until it is well. If it dies, they join another formation and continue on their journey.<br /><br />Do you think the geese are silly? It sounds to me like they are pretty smart! What lessons do you think we could learn from the geese?<br /><br />We could learn that it is important for all church members to share the responsibility within the church rather than letting the same loyal ones work until they drop!<br /><br />We could learn that it is important to "honk" encouragement to other workers in the church.<br /><br />We could learn that it is important for us to look after those who are sick or in need.<br /><br />There is a lot that we can learn from the goose, isn't there?<br /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt 0pt 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">2<sup>nd</sup> Story</span></h1><h1 style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt 0pt 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span></h1><h1 style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt 0pt 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Helping the Poor</span></span></h1><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? [1 John 3:17]</span></span></span></strong></span></div><div align="left" style="background: white; margin: 15pt 11.25pt 0pt 3.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong>"Baby Polar Bears"</strong></span></div><div align="left" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The one thing Pudgy and the older baby polar bears he played with loved to do is explore. Sometimes their moms and dads let them go out in a pack and explore the many coves and hills that made up their beautiful polar world. They made sure to stick together mostly but often split up in small packs of two to explore several coves at a time. That often turned into a game of hunt and catch with the smaller packs attacking each other playfully and wrestling and sometimes falling into the frigid ocean as they played. They loved the cold water and it made them even more playful. <br /><br />Pudgy really liked being with his friends, Boris, Hector and Philippe and playing all day while the adults did whatever it is that adults do. One day they had found a whole area of coastline that they had not explored so they were very excited. Suddenly as Pudgy and Boris were playing tag in the water, they heard Hector yell out with excitement “HEY LOOK WHAT I FOUND!” <br /><br />All of the baby bears ran as fast as they could to his voice. Pudgy’s feet kept slipping on the ice and he would bounce on his fat belly and then get up but he was used to that. That was how he ran. All of them stopped and just gasp at what Hector had found. He was standing on the edge of a small cove that was almost completely hidden from the sea or other inlets around it and the fish were so plentiful, they were almost jumping onto the shore to be eaten. Boris was standing over a huge stack of fish he had already pulled out for his snack. He looked up and smiled and then yelled “WELL COME ON IN!” <br /><br />The boys went wild fishing and catching the biggest, fattest fish and eating as fast as they could as though this paradise was going to disappear any second. Soon they were lying on the side of the water moaning for being so full. They napped and got back to their families before they were missed. For the next week, the four happy polar bears snuck off to their secret cove and stuffed themselves full on the amazing abundance of fish in that cove. To a polar bear, an unlimited quantity of fish is like unlimited money or gold is to humans so you can imagine how much they wanted to keep it all for themselves. <br /><br />On the eighth day of the feast, finally as they lay there groaning, Philippe said, “You know, I don’t feel right keeping this to ourselves. Our parents work so hard to hunt for food for us and when I get home, I am not even hungry any more. I know all of our parents are pretty rich but maybe we should share this with our families. <br /><br />“I think we should share it with the poor families in our community.” Philippe suddenly announced. “You know Georgio's mom? She is raising 10 cubs herself and her husband was killed by that fishing trawler so it’s hard for her to find enough fish. I want to share with them.” Quietly Pudgy thought that was a good idea but the other bears got very upset. <br /><br />“All those cubs will eat it all gone and there will be none left for us!” Hector worried. <br /><br />“They can have our scraps but they shouldn’t get the best. They are poor. They wouldn’t know what to do with all this wealth. They would just waste it.” Boris added and they threw snowballs at Philippe for such a dumb idea. Pudgy felt bad for now defending Philippe who had to take that abuse all alone. All the way home, they taunted him when finally Pudgy spoke up.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">“I don’t think we know best about this. Let’s consult King Marcos. He will know what to do.” He advised. <br /><br />King Marcos was the wise head of the polar bear community and it was well known he would help them see what God would have them do with the fortune. Boris and Hector knew that their parents were on some committees with King Marcos so they would advise him that the wealthy deserve this amazing discovery and that the poor should just have the left overs. The day came for the little bears to go in and see King Marcos but the rest were all scared so they made Pudgy go in and tell him what they found. When he came out, all of the little bears were on fire with curiosity but all Pudgy said was. “I just told him what we found. I told him both sides of our talks about what to do with it all and he just thanked me and said he would decide before the Polar Bear Council this Friday. <br /><br />The Polar Bear council was where King Marcos gathered every single bear in the community and told them of his recent decisions, news that concerns the community and his rulings. The meeting went on and on and on and the four baby bears were so bored but they stayed to hear his decision. <br /><br />“And now I want to tell you of four baby bears who are setting an example of how to serve God and their fellow bears.” The king finally announced. “These four bears found a treasure trove of fish, enough to feed all of us for many generations to come. They did not hoard it for themselves but they want to share it with all of us. Come up here boys.” He said signaling to the four little bears to join him on the flat rise where he did his announcements. <br /><br />“These four baby bears have given their find, which they could have kept hidden for themselves, to the community and it is my decision that the first to visit the cove will be the poorest amongst us. I decided this because this is what our great God who created all living things would want and I know that in their hearts, these wonderful boys want to serve God more than anything. They have truly brought a miracle from God to us and God will reward them mightily.” The roar of approval that went up from all the bears in the community was thunderous. Each baby polar bear could look out and see their familes and see them beam with pride for them. <br /><br />All of the boys were blushing but when Pudgy looked over at Hector and Boris, he knew that in their hearts they were both unhappy with the decision but also embarrassed because they were being praised for their love of the poor but they secretly didn’t want to serve. The meeting ended and the four little bears met privately. <br /><br />“I am sorry I didn’t encourage us to give the fish to the poor.” Boris said. “Pudgy, you and Philippe were right. We don’t deserve these praises and yet somehow we feel proud that it turned out this way.” <br /><br />“Its ok Boris” a voice came from behind them and King Marcos had walked up and put his huge paws on their heads to give them some pats of appreciation. “Even if you had your doubts, you did the right thing. And because you overcame selfishness to serve God, your sacrifice is even more wonderful. Forget your sins and praise God that you are going to be a good little polar bear from this day forward.” <br /><br />And from that day forward all of the little bears were the best citizens of the community and they knew that even better than the fish, the episode at the cove taught them how to be humble and know God’s heart for the poor and that lesson was more valuable than all the wealth in the universe. </span></span></span></div><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. [Acts 4:32-35]</span></span></span></strong></span></div><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt 0pt 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">3<sup>rd</sup> Story</span></h1><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt 0pt 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Serving</span></span></h1><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. [Ecclesiastes 4:12]</span></span></span></strong></span></div><div align="left" style="background: white; margin: 15pt 11.25pt 0pt 3.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong>"<place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place>"</strong></span></div><div align="left" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.5pt 0pt 0.05in; text-align: left;"><place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><placename w:st="on"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Misty</span></placename><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></span></span></span></place><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> was the most perfect place there could be for two young bears to grow up together. Benji and Bambi were the happiest bear cubs on the mountain when they were tiny. All the forest creatures knew when it was playtime because they ran through the forest, stumbling over everything, chasing anything and never catching anything except each other. The fun they shared was contagious. All of <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place> was at play when the bear cubs were at play. <br /><br />As they grew up, Benji and Bambi were always close but Benji became an expert hunter and fighter. He many times fought enemies for the borders of <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place> and was a hero to his friends and family. But just as many times, he created wars and fights that didn’t have to happen and made trouble for the people creatures that shared the mountain with he and his sister. Every day was an adventure for Benji but he didn’t always have the wisdom of when to enter into struggles and when to let God guide him. <br /><br />Bambi the Bear and her sweet cubs loved playing near the lake at the base of <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place>. When they played, they brought great joy to all living things just as she and her brother had done when they were young. Not far away she knew that Benji was hunting because that is what he always did. <br /><br />Suddenly the alarm went up. Through the trees in every species language, the alarm was the same “DANGER – WOLVES”. The <country-region w:st="on">Asante</country-region> band of roving wolves were back to <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place> to raid and kill and destroy. All around the lake peaceful animals were pulling back and fleeing up the mountain to escape the raid. Already Bambi could hear their growls as they charged through the trees angrily. She gathered the cubs and hurried up the hill to their caves where she knew they would be safe. <br /><br />Benji heard the wolves as well but his instincts acted differently. Instead of retreating to the hills, he took position to defend his beloved mountain and his family and friends. Somewhere in his mind a voice said, don’t fight them alone Benji. Think before you attack. And that voice sounded like his sister, Bambi. He watched carefully from a sheltered place as the wolves gathered in a clearing to mass before they attacked. Before they could organize, he was on them. <br /><br />The battle was fierce and for a while, Benji was winning. Wolf after wolf leaped upon him only to get batted away with claw marks on his head or chest for his trouble. Benji bit and growled and clawed and dozens of wolves were wounded. But the battle wore on him and suddenly he realized he was injured and starting to fail. His growls turned to howls of pain and tiredness. Without warning, he was hit from behind by a very large wolf and he fell. Turning he looked up knowing that on his back, he was sure to lose when he saw something he never expected. <br /><br />Behind the faces of the angry demonic wolves stood a bear as large and ferocious as any he had ever seen. She erupted with a growl that shook the trees and could be heard to the very top of <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place>. Bambi tore into the wolves swatting them away from her brother and sending them flying into trees, over bushes and even into the lake. Their fierce growls and howling became frightened yipes. Instead of massing to attack, they fled in chaos into the woods limping and sprinting to get as far away from Bambi as possible. The <country-region w:st="on">Asante</country-region> wolves never returned to <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Misty</placename> <placename w:st="on">Mountain</placename></place> again. <br /><br />Back in the caves, the cubs played on their injured uncle and imitated their brave mom in how she defeated the wolves. “I never thought you would fight like that.” Benji said to his sister. <br /><br />“It is good to fight for what is right and good. And anyone who loves their family will fight to protect them. I seek peace with all creatures, as our God created us to do but this is a world with evil in it and brother, when evil tries to take over good, it will have a fight from this timid mommy bear.” <br /><br />“Timid mommy bear” the cubs laughed and mimicked her swatting and making mock wolf cries. Benji laughed at their cute play and thought of the valuable lessons he learned. They were lessons about fighting and about defending what you cherish but they were also lessons of peace and joy that had always been the life testimony of his sister. And that day Benji’s heart changed from the love of battle to the love of family, God and peace. </span></span></span></div><div class="scripture" style="background: white; margin: 7.5pt 11.25pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. [Luke 21:12-15]</span></span></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">What can we do to serve our community and our church?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">We will be using our time today to make cards for St Patrick’s Day to give to the Roswell Nursing home the following Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>This will be an idea on how to serve others. </div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-81826907311066460322012-02-29T08:11:00.000-08:002012-02-29T08:11:31.912-08:00Update on Sunday school for March 4, 2012<h2 style="margin: auto 0in;">Prayer: &nbsp;Talking to God with Your Hands</h2><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>(Ask the following questions):<br /><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><em>Does anyone here like to talk on the phone?</em></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><em>Do any of you talk on the computer with emails, IM, or Skype? </em></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><em>Who do you like to talk to and what about?</em></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><em>How many of you have cell phones? </em></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><em>How many of your parents have cell phones?&nbsp; Do they get upset if they lose their phones?</em></li></ul>Talking with people is important to us!&nbsp; We make sure that we can call others whenever we want.&nbsp; We also make sure people can reach us wherever we are.<br /><em>So if talking to people is easy and we do it all the time, why is it so hard to spend time talking with God?</em><br />(Invite responses such as:&nbsp; We get busy.&nbsp; We don’t see Him all the time so we forget.&nbsp; We don’t know how.&nbsp; We might question whether God is really listening.&nbsp; We might think our problems are too small.)<br /><em>Why is it important to talk with God?</em><br /><ol type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">God wants us to know Him.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">God really does answer prayer.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">God loves us through prayer.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">We love God through prayer.</li></ol>Today we’re going to learn how to pray.&nbsp; Remember that it’s as simple as <em>talking</em> to someone you love.&nbsp; (Write out the word TALK as an acrostic on a whiteboard/chalkboard.)<br /><strong>T:&nbsp; TAKE the TIME: </strong>(Have children point to a pretend watch on their wrist.)<br />Find time in your day to talk to God.&nbsp; Pray at the same time each day.&nbsp; Make it a habit, like brushing your teeth.&nbsp; Ya’ll brush your teeth, right?<br /><strong>A:&nbsp; AHHHHHH…. Quiet: </strong>(Have children take a deep breath with you.)<br />Find a quiet place in your home.&nbsp; Turn the TV off, your music off, and find a way to escape from your little brother.&nbsp; Sit under a table, go in your closet if it’s big enough, make a fort, whatever!<br /><strong>L:&nbsp; LEARN from God’s Word.</strong> (Have children place hands palm side up as if holding a Bible.)<br />Read one verse a day.&nbsp; If you’re up for the challenge, read one chapter a day.&nbsp; Try to understand what God is saying to you.&nbsp; Ask a grown-up who knows Jesus for help if you need it.<br /><strong>K:&nbsp; KEEP a Prayer Plan.</strong> (Have children pretend like they are writing.)<br />Write down how to pray.&nbsp; Pray that way.&nbsp; Write down praises, prayer requests, and verses that mean a lot to you.&nbsp; Keep it simple or else you won’t keep doing it.<br />(Repeat each component at least once, if not twice to ensure retention.)<br /><em>Do any of you like to talk with your hands? </em>(Mimic people who talk with their hands:&nbsp; chefs, airline stewardesses, tour guides, photographers, pastors, etc.)<br />Today our hands are going to help us learn how to pray.&nbsp; As long as your hands go home with you today (please tell me they will!) you should remember our lesson.&nbsp; You’ve got five fingers and we’ve got five parts of prayer.&nbsp; You ready?<br /><strong>1.&nbsp; PRAISE:</strong> Praise is saying what you love about someone.&nbsp; It’s saying, “God, I love that you are good.&nbsp; I love how you made the ocean.&nbsp; I love that you sent Jesus for our sins.”&nbsp; (As you list each example, number them with your fingers and invite the children to do the same.)<br /><strong>2. CONFESS:</strong> Confession is a big word for spit up.&nbsp; It means to get the junk out of your life.&nbsp; It’s when you ask for forgiveness of your sins.&nbsp; It’s saying, “I’m sorry that I lied.&nbsp; Forgive me for getting in a fight with my brother.&nbsp; I’m sorry for not loving you like I should.”&nbsp; (As you list each, use your hands to mimic throwing up.)<br /><strong>3.</strong> <strong>READ:</strong> <city><place>Reading</place></city> God’s word helps us see ourselves as in a mirror.&nbsp; It helps us understand who God is and who we are.&nbsp; It helps us to pray because we know who we’re praying to.&nbsp; (Mimic turning pages or holding up a mirror.)<br /><strong>4.</strong> <strong>ASK:</strong> God says in Matthew <time hour="21" minute="22">21:22</time> that, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”&nbsp; Pray for others.&nbsp; Pray for yourself.&nbsp; Ask for people to be saved, for God to provide, for wisdom to understand, for help in temptation, for people to be healed.&nbsp; (Invite children to fold their hands as in prayer.)<br /><strong>5.</strong> <strong>THANKS:</strong> God has done so much for us.&nbsp; What can you be thankful for today?&nbsp; (Invite children to list items.&nbsp; Lead the children in a lively worship song of praise/thanksgiving such as “He has made me glad.”&nbsp; Have them clap their hands in thanks.)<br />(Review each of the parts of the Prayer Plan with the hand motions to cue the students’ memory.&nbsp; Review a second time with only the bolded words.&nbsp; Have students demonstrate the hand motions for each.&nbsp; Close the lesson in prayer.&nbsp; Follow the prayer plan, keeping it brief to hold students’ attention.)<br /><h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Matthew 6:9-13 ESV</span></h3>Pray then like this:<br />“Our Father in heaven,<br />hallowed be your name.<br />Your kingdom come,<br />your will be done,<br />on earth as it is in heaven.<br />Give us this day our daily bread,<br />and forgive us our debts,<br />as we also have forgiven our debtors.<br />And lead us not into temptation,<br />but deliver us from evil.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Review website below</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: #0066cd; font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">http://guide.gospelcom.net//resources/</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: #0066cd; font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">populationticker.php</span><span style="color: black; font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Ask,</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">How many of you know who Jesus is? Raise your hand if you know who Jesus is?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">After taking some time to count all of the hands out loud, say, </span><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Wow! A lot of you know about Jesus! That is wonderful. Now, how many of you know that God loved the world so much that he gave His only Son Jesus so that whoever believes in Him can have eternal life with God?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Pause for children to raise their hands.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">That is wonderful! I am thankful that so many of you know who Jesus is and that He is the only way to be with God in heaven some day! Are you glad that someone told you about Jesus?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Continue</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">,</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Can you guess how many people there are in the world? Raise your hand if you have a guess.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Allow several children to give their guesses, then write the actual number on the chalkboard. Start from the right and just keep adding digits until you have written the whole number! Then read the number to the children</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Exclaim, </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">That is a lot of people! I can’t even imagine how many people that would be! Hmm, some of those people have probably never heard about Jesus. How many people do you think that that would be? How many people have never really had a chance to believe in Jesus? Any guesses?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Take several guesses, and then begin writing again. </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">This time write the number of people who have not had an adequate opportunity</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">to hear the gospel. Read the number to the children before commenting, </span><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Wow! That is amazing! About half the people in the world have never heard that Jesus is the way to God. Let me show you what that means.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Invite one child to the front to represent each billion people.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">(For about 6 billion people in the world, invite 6 children to the</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">front, etc.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Explain,</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Let’s pretend that these are all the people in the world. According to what we have just learned, half of all people have never heard that Jesus died for their sins. They don’t know that they can have eternal life if they believe in Jesus. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Separate out one child for each billion people who have not heard an adequate presentation of the gospel. This will be about half of the children. Round the numbers as needed to make the illustration work. (If you need half of a person, consider asking one child to turn sideways between the two groups.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>Continue,</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">That means that out of all these people, this many do not even have a chance to believe in Jesus!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Point to the children who in the world who have not heard an adequate presentation of the gospel and say.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Did you know that so many people have never had a chance to know Jesus? They really don’t have a choice to believe in Jesus. How does that make you feel?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Point to the other half of the children. </span><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">This many people have heard about Jesus. But…</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Separate about one-third of the “evangelized” children from the others.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">…only about this many of the people who have heard about Jesus believe in Him. That means a </span><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">lot </span><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">of people do not know Jesus! We have a big problem! What can we do about this problem?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Allow the children to make some suggestions. If no one suggests prayer, add that suggestion to the list. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Continue, </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">You have some fantastic ideas about what you can do to help people who haven’t believed in Jesus! I hope that you will try some of those things. One of our ideas was to pray. Do you think your prayers really make a difference?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">I will be giving the children handouts to take home on learning the Lords Prayer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: MicrosoftSansSerif;">Lastly, I will finalize with reading the beginning of the story about Jesus that was in the handout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></span></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-51333017589820173902012-02-26T02:47:00.000-08:002012-02-26T02:47:56.816-08:00Sunday Morning Welcome<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Good morning and welcome to Christ Church!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">I hope you find a warm greeting here and that your experience draws you closer to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Today is the first Sunday in Lent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Lent is the season of preparation that leads up to the celebration of Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>As a part of Lent, people often fast – give something up – and take on other spiritual disciplines for the purpose of spiritual growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>As we get ready for Easter, we prepare our hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We make ourselves ready for the Good News to live in us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">In our sermon series for the season, we will talk about this preparation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>How do you plan to grow?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Each Sunday, we will cover a different discipline, a different aspect of spiritual development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Together we will learn how to prepare our hearts to receive the resurrected Christ!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Make your plan to join us for “What’s Your Plan?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-61585837095258250492012-02-26T02:45:00.000-08:002012-02-26T02:45:22.497-08:00Christ Notes – February 23, 2012<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.&nbsp;Jer 18:1-4</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few years ago, my picture was in the Cherokee County newspaper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>At least, I think it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>My good friend Ginny and I went to Holbrook Campground for a worship service at their annual camp meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It was a new experience for me and a joy to see so many families staying onsite for this traditional event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the worship service started one of the pastors in charge – a friend of mine – saw me and asked me to lead one of the prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Not long after, a woman from the newspaper told me that she had taken a picture of me during the prayer and wanted to know my name and where I was from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>(Ginny now wants to be my publicist.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I couldn’t help but be amused at the irony of being the picture representative of this event when I was merely an innocent bystander and had done none of the hard work of making it happen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The message that day, brought by the Rev. James Smith, used the above text from Jeremiah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>He eloquently reminded us that we are still works in the hands of God, continually being shaped, re-shaped and perfected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>If one shape doesn’t work out or is finished in its use, then God prepares us for the next shape, and the next, and the next.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It occurs to me that we are very different from the pliable clay on that potter’s wheel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We are called into service long before our shape is complete; while our clay is still wet and more work is still to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Throughout our lives, we are works in progress; imperfect and unfinished, but useful nevertheless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>God calls us now, in this and every moment – even with our lumps and sharp edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>And our response is to say “yes,” even if we have leaks, chips or weak handles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>God knows we will chip and break, but continues to spin us on the wheel until our final form becomes apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We will just have to wait and see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that we have started the season of Lent (we began yesterday with the celebration of Ash Wednesday), we take this formation even more seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Lent is a time of preparation as we make our hearts ready to contain the good news of the resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Don’t be a bystander.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Make a plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Engage in a new spiritual practice, or choose a fast (give something up) for Lent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Make a conscious and disciplined effort to grow during this season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Your church family will be growing right along with you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-57964993572102206232012-02-23T09:34:00.002-08:002012-02-23T09:34:20.135-08:00Update on Sunday School 2-26-2012<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544131"> <div align="center" class="yiv1632036227MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #330066; font-size: 24pt;"><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Helping Little Children with Lent </strong></span></span></div><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>As parents of young children know, Lent can seem so “heavy” in comparison to the anticipation and excitement of preparing for Christmas. What can this season of conversion and preparation “to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed” mean for little children? </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>For many of us growing up, Lent meant “giving up candy.” That wasn’t a bad way to introduce us to the notion of self-discipline, but simply giving up something for Lent, without a whole spirituality that children can enter into, can leave kids dreading Lent more than looking forward to it.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>The first and most important help for little children is that we as adults understand Lent and enter into it ourselves with real devotion and joy. If Lent makes its way into our home and into our conversations and practices that children can see, they will naturally grow up in a culture that embraces Lent as a season of grace.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Secondly, symbols are very important. Children need a context. They need to explore and understand what we just take for granted, and sometimes forget. When we put something in a central place in our home, and call attention to it, it naturally leads children to ask “why” it is there and what it means. In their curiosity, they want to know what’s changed and what difference it makes for them. </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>It is important, with our family prayer to let the story of our salvation enter the imaginations of our children. Telling stories helps it all “fit together” for children, and for us. So, if we have a bowl of water in a central place in our home, it can be a wonderful “entry point” to the season of Lent for the whole family. What does this water remind us of? Our baptism. Lent is a time in which we want to be renewed in our baptism. That’s why it is nice to find the children’s baptismal candles or baptismal garments. Perhaps we have photos of their baptism or even a video of it. </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Helping children get back in touch with their baptism can help them understand that when the water was poured over their foreheads, or when they were immersed in the water, they were placed with Jesus for the rest of their lives. It becomes very vivid if children can be helped to act it out with a doll. We’re not baptizing the doll, but our doll can help us imagine what it was like when we were baptized. Why do we use water to help us think that we are one with Jesus? </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="color: #330066;">Water is so important to life; we can’t survive without it for even a few days. Water plays an important part in our story. The story of creation begins with the Spirit of God hovering over the dark waters until God said, “Let there be light!” The story of the exodus from </span><span style="color: #330066;">Egypt</span><span style="color: #330066;"> tells how God led his people to safety and freedom through the </span><span style="color: #330066;">Red Sea</span></span><span><span style="color: #330033;">. When John the Baptist was baptizing people in the River Jordan, to help them turn away from sin and live a good life, Jesus came and asked to be baptized too, not</span> because he was a sinner but because he was beginning his public life to become completely a part of our lives on this earth. And, when the centurion pierced Jesus’ side, after he died on the cross for us, blood and water flowed out as a sign of the sacraments he would give us. And, of course, there are the small fonts of water at the doors of every church, to remind us of the baptismal font in which we were baptized. So, each time we enter a church, we dip our hands in that water and sign ourselves with the cross of our salvation.</span></strong></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Depending upon the age of our children, we can have the older children help the younger children with Lent. A family “meeting” could be scheduled each week, in which we could say a prayer, and then plan out what each person in the family can do in the upcoming week, to help the whole family out and what the whole family could do to help the poor. For example, each child could be assigned one small “duty” to do, to help out the family this week. It could be an ordinary household chore, or it could be to draw a symbol for our Lent journey – a picture of the people crossing the Red Sea, Jesus’ baptism, his or her own baptism, one of us in the family when we are sad and when we are happy. </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Perhaps at this family meeting, the family plan for eating during Lent could be discussed. How will we abstain from meat this coming Friday? Why are we doing it? It’s a sacrifice, but it is a remembrance of the Friday we call “Good”, the day our Lord died for us. And, avoiding meat on this day places us in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in our city, our country and around the world who are poor. A family can also get a sense of its relationship with the poor if a simple meal is connected with “savings” which can be given to the poor. One practice a family might take up together is to find out about a meal program for the homeless in the area and to make a meal to bring to the meal program each week. Children can help in making a big pot of chili or sloppy joes and come along on the trip in delivering it to the meal program. This kind of family Lenten practice can transform a child’s experience of the special power of Lent</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>The most important part of Lent can be how children are helped to make this a time to practice being more loving. Children are naturally loving, but they can get into really bad habits of fighting with brothers and sisters or being disobedient or even talking back. Lent is a great time to build in some family practices, which can also be an outstanding renewal for parents and adults in the family. Children will notice, if part of my Lenten journey is to choose to fast from my crabby-ness or busy-ness and to spend more time with them. They will notice, if we set the example of choosing to compliment others in the family more, highlighting the good things I notice in them. If our family Lenten practice is to focus on being nicer, kinder and more generous in helping each other, the children will take part in it. And, if we fail on a given day, we can quickly apologize and ask forgiveness and model penitential and reconciling behavior that is central to Lent.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>During Lent, a family could choose a number of things to make a huge difference in a child’s experience of Lent. All they take are a commitment of time and some creativity.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>One possibility is to take 20 minutes, perhaps on a Friday in Lent, to go through the Stations of the Cross together as a family. Each of the stations can be described. The point is not to frighten the children with the terrible things that happened to Jesus, but to help them understand that he went through all of this for us, so that we need not fear death, for we are going to live with him forever.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Perhaps as part of our special Lent practices, a family could look at the upcoming Sunday’s gospel together on Saturday, to prepare for Sunday. The more the story of the gospel enters the children’s imagination, the more the children can get out of celebrating the Sunday liturgy with the family. And, it will be great to talk about the homily, in practical terms for the family, sometime during the day on Sunday.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>Finally, the most important days to prepare children for are Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday – the three days Lent builds up to. It would be wonderful to prepare children for the great liturgies these days, but if it is not possible to celebrate these liturgies in person, it is possible to make those times special at home. </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>On Holy Thursday, a special meal can be prepared and the family can remember the meal Jesus had with his disciples, the night before he died for us, and how he gave us his body and blood that night. Perhaps lamb can be prepared, along with pita bread and some wine, so that the whole Passover story can to shared with the children. This connection with every Eucharist, can be a great and memorable time for the children. After supper, a family could wash each others’ feet as an important ritual to talk about afterwards. It will certainly seem awkward or uncomfortable. It’s supposed to. We can then talk about what this ritual means for us, linking it to the gift of the Eucharist, as we live out the example Jesus gave for us, of self-giving. </strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330066;"><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>On Good Friday, we can plan to observe the day in many special ways. We can plan our meals carefully, to explain </strong></span><a href="http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/fast-abstinence.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>fasting and abstinence</strong></span></a><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>. Without jeopardizing the childrens’ health, we ourselves can demonstrate fasting to them, and explain its meaning: to make us more alert and hungry for God’s gifts to us. The time between </strong></span></span><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #330066;">Noon</span><span style="color: #330066;"> and </span><span style="color: #330066;">3 o’clock</span><span> should be a particularly quiet and reflective time. We can read the Passion story – from John’s <a href="http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/john/john18.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gospel</a> – and add our own words here and there to fill out the story and let children ask questions. We can pray our petitions for all of God’s people, especially the ten groups we traditionally pray for on <a href="http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/prep-goodfriday.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Good Friday</a>. It is a wonderful time to do the <a href="http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/stations.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stations of the Cross</a> together. It can also be a time to do a veneration of the cross together – embracing or kissing a family crucifix.</span></strong></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330033;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span><strong>On Holy Saturday, we can make the day a time of waiting. We can remember that it is the only day of the church year on which there is no liturgy. We are conscious all day of the memory of Jesus in the tomb. It is a day in which we can help children talk about the reality of death, and then explain to them the anticipation of new life. If we really reflect upon that tomb, which held the body of Jesus, we can really understand the power of our Easter joy – that the tomb is empty forever.</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330066;"><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>In this spirit, every family can do something to make Lent special for the youngest of children.</strong></span></span><br /><span style="color: #330066;"><span style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>So, this week we will be discussion planning to fast and the meaning of it, but we will also be discussing and learning about The Parable of the Great Feast.</strong></span></span><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544130" style="color: #330066;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544129" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <div class="yiv1632036227MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544128" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544127" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544126" style="color: #330033; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong id="yui_3_2_0_1_1330018185544125">The children will understand that Lent is a 40 day journey (not counting Sundays!) to focus on God and prepare to remember and celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave to save each of us.&nbsp; Many people decide to “give up” things for Lent to help them remember that Jesus gave his life for us, but you can also “take on” doing good things, just like Jesus did.&nbsp; Through the exploration of parable Bible stories, these lessons help children discover how we can attempt to live and serve as Jesus did in the kind of kingdom he envisioned.&nbsp;&nbsp; This lesson explores including and inviting others with the story of The Parable of the Great Feast.</strong></span></span></div><div class="yiv1632036227MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="yiv1632036227MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div></span></span> </div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-41027400105347083662012-02-19T07:07:00.001-08:002012-02-19T07:07:00.223-08:00Sunday Morning Welcome<span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Good morning and welcome to Christ Church!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">I hope you find a warm greeting here and that your experience draws you closer to God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Today we are having a special worship service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Members of our congregation are participating in many different ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Our worship service is a Service of Gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Most of us are way too modest about our gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We are far too likely to think we don’t have them or that they don’t matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Nothing is farther from the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Your gifts DO matter!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>(and yes, you have them.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>They are not meant to be hoarded or denied but exercised.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Don’t hide your gifts, celebrate them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Then use them in the service of the One who gives all good gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;">Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-47613337597097597452012-02-16T12:06:00.000-08:002012-02-16T12:06:00.536-08:00Christ Notes - February 16, 2012<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few years ago, a friend of mine preached a sermon on leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>One of his points has remained with me to this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>He said, “Leadership is taking people where they didn’t know they wanted to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It isn’t leadership if you’re taking them to Dunkin’ Donuts.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The longer I work as a pastor, the more I realize how important leadership is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>“Leadership” defined broadly, refers to influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We usually think of leadership as being a committee chair, a club president, an official – and it is true that good leadership skills are needed for these roles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But it means more than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Through leadership we create change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We direct people and bring about situations that we hope will build the general good – and we are likely to do this regardless of any titles that we carry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We lead best by living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Some of the best leaders I know are the self-defined “worker bees” who decline any formal management opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Regardless what position we hold, when others bend their actions because of our direction or example, we have practiced good leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The quality of our leadership will depend on the things we are committed to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>People will be influenced by our choices, by the sacrifices that we make, and by the things that are important to us as proven by our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Are you willing to be a leader?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Are you willing to make the choices and commitments that will point others toward the things that are really important?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I hope you will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I hope your leadership will draw others to God in Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>What better direction can we have? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rev. Nancy</span></span>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-34372388633004424032012-02-12T01:12:00.000-08:002012-02-12T01:12:00.769-08:00Sunday Morning Welcome<span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Good morning and welcome to Christ Church!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you find a warm greeting here and that your experience draws you closer to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Today is Scout Sunday and we welcome those visiting scouts to our church and our worship service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our worship and sermon topic is Super Hero!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Wouldn’t it be great to be a super hero? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>To have all the superhuman abilities that you usually only see in people who wear a mask and a cape!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We probably all have that secret wish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, the Bible tells us we can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>What’s more, we’re expected to!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We will talk about it today, as we continue our sermon series, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Power of U:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Finding Your Place in God’s Plan</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Learn how you can be a super hero in somebody’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-29051415677126323182012-02-09T10:51:00.001-08:002012-02-09T10:54:48.148-08:00Sunday School update 2-12<div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945544"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945543" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945542" style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> &nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945406"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945405" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945404" style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Jesus in <span class="yshortcuts cs4-visible" id="lw_1328813238_0">Nazareth</span></span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945538"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> &nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945520"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945519"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945518" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945517" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Jesus began his ministry in his own hometown of Nazareth .&nbsp; After struggling with temptation in the wilderness and armed with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was ready to face his most difficult challenge—delivering his message to the people who knew him best.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945536"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945525"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945524"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945523" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945522" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">To many Jesus was the fulfillment of the hopes of the Jewish people for a Messiah.&nbsp; But some Jewish people saw his ministry as a rejection of his heritage; they rejected his claim that he was the Messiah.&nbsp; A the synagogue in Nazareth , where Jesus—a native son—had come to pray and to worship God, the flickering flames of this rejection began.&nbsp; The people who heard him that day asked one another; Who is this?&nbsp; Isn’t this Joseph’s son?&nbsp; How presumptuous for him to claim the status of Messiah?&nbsp; </span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945533"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945530"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945529"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945528" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945527" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">The passages that Jesus read in the synagogue that day were from Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of the Spirit of God.&nbsp; The Gentiles who heard this message after Jesus’ death longed for the time.&nbsp; These people were struggling under the oppressive yoke of the Roman government.&nbsp; They received these words with great hope.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945549"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945551"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945555"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945554" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945553" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">But what is good news to a younger elementary child?&nbsp; A new baby brother?&nbsp; A surprise gift?&nbsp; Might good news also, be a safe place to live, a good warm meal, warn clothing, a dependable parent?&nbsp; Good news is relative to the child.&nbsp; The message of good news that Jesus was preaching had to do with fairness and justice for all peple.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945557"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945562"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945561"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945560" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945559" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Fairness and justice.&nbsp; These two words that can be applied to younger elementary children.&nbsp; They want everything to be even.&nbsp; They also want justice.&nbsp; If one child is given a privilege, then all children want an equal privilege.&nbsp; If a child is punished, then any child committing the same transgression should be punished equally.&nbsp; The rules should be fair for everyone.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945563"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945567"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945566"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945565" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945564" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Jesus set an example of fairness and justice for all people to follow.&nbsp; The children in Sunday school will discover that they can be bearers of good news as well.&nbsp; They can make a difference.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945568"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945572"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945571"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945570" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945569" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Sunday, your children will hear the story of Jesus’ visit to the synagogue at Nazareth .&nbsp; These Jesus revealed to the people that he was the promised Messiah.&nbsp; But the people there, friends and neighbors who watched Jesus grow up, did not accept him.&nbsp; For one thing, Jesus informed all who heard that God had sent him as the Messiah to all people—not just his own.&nbsp; Your children are at an age where fairness is a critical issue.&nbsp; How many games have fallen apart in a discussion over what is fair or just?&nbsp; Talk with your children about being fair to all people.&nbsp; Remind them that sometimes we have to sacrifice in order to be fair or just for all persons involved.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945573"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945577"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945576"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945575" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945574" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">We will be playing and coloring cards and this will be called encouraging words, no fair race, the story will be about the obstacles that Jesus has to face and how it relates to us, a gme called whose good news and finally a game called over and under good news.&nbsp; </span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945578"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945579"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Bible Verse</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945580"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945584"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945583"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945582" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945581" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945585"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945622"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945621" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945620" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Luke 4:18</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945586"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945587"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945616"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945615" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945614" style="font-size: 16.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Bible Story</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945588"><b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"> &nbsp;</span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945589"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945610"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945609" style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945608" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Luke 4:14-21; Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6 </span></span></b></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945590"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> &nbsp;</span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945591"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lisa Wille</span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy;"></span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945593"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945605" style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945604" style="color: navy; font-size: 12.0pt;">E mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:lisa11675@gmail.com" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945412" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="" id="lw_1328813238_1">lisa11675@gmail.com</span></a></span></span></div><div class="yiv936933583MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328813213945594"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cell:&nbsp; 770-362-2175</span></span></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-68818799107512740292012-02-09T06:08:00.000-08:002012-02-09T06:08:00.450-08:00Christ Notes - February 9, 2012<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In December, just before Christmas, I took my children shopping for Christmas gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>This was a first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It isn’t that my children didn’t have experience with presents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>They know perfectly well the meaning of a box wrapped in shiny paper and colorful ribbon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Many have passed through their hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>They have not, however, done the choosing, the wrapping, the labeling or the putting under the tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Being on the giving end of the gifts was a new thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, wanting them to learn about this new experience, I packed each one into the car on separate occasions and headed for the dollar store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I wanted them to learn to pick out presents for family members, then we would wrap them and put them under the tree. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>We had some success, if limited. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>I can’t say that they fully understood the process and what it was all about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I’m fairly certain that the Tinkerbell puzzle wasn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> meant for Daddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But I do hope that every year, as we go through the ritual of choosing and wrapping gifts, they will begin to learn the joy that can come from giving them.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we are young, the fun of gifts is receiving them – waiting anxiously to rip through the paper and see what new wonderful thing we have gotten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>When we get older, however, we realize that the real joy comes from the giving – choosing that wonderful thing for someone we care about, and watching as they open it and use it in a way that brings happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I imagine this is how God feels offering gifts to us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone has gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We talked about it a few weeks ago in worship as we shared the story of Stone Soup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Everyone has something to contribute to the feast we call Christian community; the banquet we call worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>If we are pleased to see a loved one use a gift we have carefully picked out for them, imagine how God delights in our use of the gifts which have been given to us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Sunday, February 19, we are going to have a Service of Gifts as our worship service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>What is a Service of Gifts?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It will look like something like a talent show, but instead of entertaining an audience, we will be using our gifts to worship God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>You have gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>They may or may not easily translate to a worship setting, but we would like to honor God with them in our service of gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Sign up or learn more by contacting the church office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Share your gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blessings</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-46514138107907470962012-02-05T05:31:00.000-08:002012-02-05T05:31:00.226-08:00Sunday Morning Welcome<span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Good morning and welcome to Christ Church!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hope you find a warm greeting here and that your experience draws you closer to God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are many reasons that we serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We may serve out of compassion for others, maybe out of guilt. We may help others because we want our lives to mean something, or because our service will look good on a resume or a college application.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Maybe it is just what you do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Whatever reason we may claim, there is one that is the foundation for all the rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We are built for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;">God made us to lean on each other and to be reliable in our turn; to help those who need help at any given time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It is a part of our makeup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>This may not necessarily make it easy to get up from the recliner and the Saturday morning cartoons to do an outreach project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But like any other discipline, we find ourselves feeling better, happier and healthier when we are done.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today in worship we continue our sermon series, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Power of U: Finding Your Place In God’s Plan</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Join us as we listen for God’s call to us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Monotype Corsiva&quot;; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168908182281323611.post-53695210066983371932012-02-02T08:14:00.000-08:002012-02-02T08:15:44.787-08:00Christ Notes - February 2, 2012<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>and your labour for that which does not satisfy?<br />Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,&nbsp;and delight yourselves <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in rich&nbsp;food.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Isaiah 55:2<o:p></o:p></span></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the days when Vivian rode the bus to school, we would find ourselves standing at the end of the driveway at 6:45 in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The sun would just be coming up on the best day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>At first, we were none too happy about the early pick up time, but now I feel differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>While I’m no morning person, I am glad for an early start to the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It is a great opportunity to visit the world while it is quiet and to start the day’s work unencumbered by the distractions that come with normal daytime hours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am beginning to think that early is good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>As a recovering procrastinator, I am starting to learn the joys of finishing a job without the stress of an immediate deadline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I am also beginning to think through priorities very carefully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>A common reason that we end up behind schedule or stressed is that we work against our priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>It is far too easy for most of us to put aside what is really important for the things we think need to be done right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>More of our attention often goes to the distractions than to the things that matter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">This happens in our faith life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I know this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I earn my living as a cheerleader for faith, and way too often I see us give the ball away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Any of us who profess the Christian faith would probably agree that our relationship with God and the practice of our beliefs is the foundational piece of our lives – the thing that sustains us now and will keep us beyond this life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But how often do our schedules reflect something very different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Then church/faith/ God becomes that thing that we know we ought to do – but it will always be there, and we’ll get to it as soon as we can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>And an opportunity is missed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not interested in making religion the equivalent of spinach – something you are coerced into consuming along with a heaping portion of guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But I don’t want you to miss an important opportunity either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I don’t want you to spend your one life on what is not life-giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Pay attention to your faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>How do you practice it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>What time to you give it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>What commitment do you make?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Don’t wait until hindsight makes you see the opportunity missed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Pour your time into the things that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Whether you’re starting early or late, start now.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessings,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Rev. Nancy<o:p></o:p></em></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div></span>Christ United Methodist Churchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11516224601414184186noreply@blogger.com0